Speaking to beIN Sport, former Racing Club de Strasbourg manager Julien Stéphan revealed that he is perfecting his English and is ready for a new project.
Stéphan was sacked as manager of Strasbourg in January, with the Alsace club engulfed in a relegation battle at the bottom of Ligue 1. With four teams dropping down to Ligue 2 this season, Strasbourg made the decision to cut ties and hire former FC Metz manager Frédéric Antonetti. The club are currently three points above the relegation places.
The young coach arrived from Rennes at the start of last season and guided the club to an impressive 6th-place finish – narrowly missing out on European competition – and was expected to kick on this year having held on to the core of his squad and important players.
However, Stéphan, who notably won the Coupe de France in Brittany during his first season in senior management in 2019, instead oversaw a dramatic loss of form which ultimately cost him his position.
However, he is now ready to assume a new role having come to terms with his sacking at Strasbourg. The Frenchman says that he is learning English and isn’t closed to the idea of managing in a foreign division.
“You have to come to terms with [a sacking], and you mustn’t come back too quickly without having fully recovered. That takes a few weeks, and I’m at a point where I’m fully recovered and fully come to terms with it. I am now looking forward, and waiting for an interesting project either next season, or in the very near future” Stéphan began.
He continued, “I am open [to working in another championship]. I am perfecting my English. I insist on learning English and I’m having regular lessons and speaking a lot.” The former Strasbourg and Stade Rennais manager was then asked whether moving to England was therefore his priority. He replied, “Yes. The ideal way to do that is to be fully immersed. [The Premier League] is the championship that we all watch. It is a very popular division with many top, top managers. I’m open. I feel ready now to make a move abroad, which wasn’t necessarily the case until now. Today, I’m much more open.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
