Vahid Halilhodžić isn’t wasting any time getting his new team in shape down the stretch of the Ligue 1 campaign. The new FC Nantes manager replaced Ahmed Kantari on 11th March. The Bosnian had previously played for La Maison Jaune in the 1980s, helping them win the top-flight title in the 1982-83 season.

The Bosnian coach has a much different goal at Nantes this time around: to get them out of the relegation zone. Heading into Sunday’s meeting with RC Strasbourg Alsace, his side are in the final relegation position with 17 points. Under the former French Manager of the Year, Nantes players have been put through their paces.

He doubled the team’s training sessions on Thursday and Friday in preparation for the Alsace club. He also admitted this week that when offered the job to coach Nantes, “It took me three days to say yes.”

Halilhodžić has not been coaching since Morocco sacked him as the national team manager in August 2022. He had previously guided the Algerian team to the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, their best-ever finish in the finals.

Halilhodžić had a rather uneventful first stint in charge of Les Canaris, having been appointed coach in October 2018. He departed in August of the following year because of a disagreement with the club’s owner and president, Waldemar Kita. He won just over 45% of his matches with Nantes during his first stint in charge.