St Etienne, France - French first division side St Etienne parted company with coach Laurent Roussey Tuesday as a consequence of the club's recent disastrous run of results.

St Etienne sit in the relegation zone after five defeats in succession.

"Because of the recent performances and certain off-field problems AS St Etienne have concluded it's time to change things," said the club in a statement.

Roussey's assistant Gerard Fernandez takes over in a caretaker capacity at the 10-time French champions while youth trainer Alain Blachon and fitness coach Thierry Cotte have also been retained.

Alain Perrin, Didier Deschamps, Frederic Hantz and Jacques Santini have all been mentioned as possible replacements for Roussey. (dpa)