RC Lens officially announced, on Friday, November 13, the appointment of Didier Digard as head coach for the next two seasons. Aged 40, the former Le Havre coach was named on Friday evening by the Artois club.
The decision came as a complete surprise. Few people had seen this choice coming for the Lens bench.
A new chapter is opening for the Blood and Gold. Didier Digard will quickly face the heavy task of making people forget the expectations raised by his potential predecessors.
He comes from a particularly difficult spell in charge of Le Havre. The Normandy club dismissed him two weeks ago after a disastrous start to the season.
The record then stood at two draws and seven defeats. Didier Digard left Le Havre in last place in Ligue 1.
The Le Havre spell cannot be reduced to that end of the cycle. Promoted to head coach in January 2023, he turned around a struggling side, with ten wins, seven draws and four defeats in 21 Ligue 1 matches.
He then secured two consecutive survivals in the top flight, despite limited resources. Those arguments weighed in Lens's decision.
The context remains far from ideal for a rebound. It clearly has not cooled the Lens executives, who nonetheless appoint the former Le Havre coach for two seasons.