RC Lens president makes interesting head coach claim after Will Still Sunderland twist
Sunderland are still searching for a new head coach after Will Still withdrew from the running.
RC Lens president Joseph Oughourlian says the club are still searching for the right person to become their new head coach - despite reports Will Still is set to take the job.
Still, who left French club Reims last month, held talks with Sunderland about taking the head coach position on Wearside but withdrew from the running last week. The 31-year-old was widely expected to join RC Lens, who finished seventh in Ligue 1 during the 2023/24 season, but are set to lose head coach Franck Haise to league rivals Nice.
Yet Oughourlian has claimed Lens haven’t made a final decision on Haise’s replacement, despite recent reports regarding Still.
“We would all have wanted Franck Haise to stay. I understood, perhaps a little late, that he was going to leave,” said Oughourlian. “During a dinner on April 18. I think it was already too late. His decision was made. Afterwards, you will have to talk to him. Maybe he didn't say everything.
“I think he was tired of months and months of procrastination, changes in sporting direction, the role of general manager, and he wanted to move on. I did everything so that he could stay at the club, but it was already complicated. When he announced his firm and final decision to me, a few days after the end of the championship, I did not try to keep him willingly or by force. When a manager wants to leave a club, there's not much you can do. I tried to find a deal as quickly as possible with the Nice club. We had an interest in positioning ourselves on other profiles.
“We have a number of candidates. This club remains attractive. Today, we don't have the right person yet. We work hard, without rushing. The hasty decisions, particularly those taken on the sporting side over the past 18 months, have been paid very dearly.”