Nantes sack coach Furlan

Eight-time French champions Nantes have sacked their manager Jean-Marc Furlan, the 52-year-old former Bordeaux defender said on Friday.

“I found out from Franck Kita (son of Nantes chairman Waldermar) and Gilles Favard (Kita’s adviser) that my tenure has come to end,” Furlan said after seeing his Ligue 2 side beat Bastia 3-1.

Furlan only took over the reins of the Canaries in December 2009, having previously coached Strasbourg.

Nantes were once a dominant force in French football, winning the last of their eight Ligue 1 titles in 2001.

They also have three French Cups to their name, but the club is now languishing in 14th place in France’s second tier.

Press reports say Nantes’s former assistant manager Baptiste Gentili is the front runner to take over from Furlan.