Toulouse replace coach Montanier after Coupe de France success

Toulouse on Wednesday announced the departure of Philippe Montanier, the coach who led the Ligue 1 club to a first French Cup title in 66 years this season.

Montanier will be replaced by his assistant Carles Martinez Novell, who joined Toulouse in December after spells working with the Barcelona academy as well as in the Gulf.

"The club would like to express its sincere thanks to Philippe Montanier for his professionalism and his commitment, which allowed him to win Ligue 2 (last year) and then the Coupe de France," Toulouse said in a statement.

Toulouse finished 13th on their return to the top flight this season and thrashed Nantes 5-1 in the French Cup final in April.

However, club president Damien Comolli said last week the team had not hit all their targets.

"We set off with the goal of finishing higher," said Comolli, who has overseen an approach to scouting players that leans heavily on the use of data since the 2020 takeover by US investment firm RedBird Capital Partners.

"All our indicators showed us that we had a team to finish 10th or 11th. It's the first time since we've been at the club that we've underperformed."