Struggling Lyon prepare for life after coach Grosso

The 46-year-old Italian lasted just over two months in the hot seat after he replaced Laurent Blanc on September 16, but his record of one win in seven matches forced the Lyon hierarchy's hand on Thursday. In a statement, the club said the decision to move on from Grosso was driven by the poor run of results and came following an "in-depth analysis of the first-team situation".

Heading into the weekend, Lyon remain rock bottom and five points from safety, having accumulated just one win and a total of seven points from their opening 12 matches. That one victory came on matchday 12 away to Rennes thanks to a Jake O'Brien goal, but that stuttering win against a side that played over 85 minutes with just 10 men did not ease the concerns of Lyon's upper echelons.

After much speculation about his future, Grosso's final game in charge was last Sunday's 2-0 home defeat by Lille. It was an unhappy time in the Lyon dugout for the 2006 World Cup winner, who equalled Raymond Domenech's 1989-90 club record for the most top-flight defeats after seven games and also suffered head injuries in last October's stoning of the team bus by Marseille fans as it entered the Stade Velodrome.

Academy boss Pierre Sage will take his place on the bench away to sixth-placed Lens, who are undefeated in their last eight league matches, though did suffer a 6-0 mauling at Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday. "I take things on a day-to-day basis. We'll do everything we can to keep things moving in the right direction. Everything is being done in a hurry, of course," said Sage during Thursday's pre-match press conference.

Just two days after stepping into the role, he will become Lyon's fourth coach of the season, following on from Blanc, interim