Nancy endured a nightmare season in their first back in Ligue 2 after being relegated from the top flight a year ago. The Lorraine club had expected to push for promotion but actually came far closer to being relegated and were not safe from the drop until they beat Orleans 3-0 on the final day of the season.
Pablo Correa started the season in charge of the club but they would go through three different coaches before they finally finished the season under Didier Tholot. Indeed, Nancy will probably think themselves a little hasty in sacking the Uruguayan in August after a disappointing start to the campaign.
Certainly, it was an error replacing him with Vincent Hognon, who was untested in such a role and proved to be a disastrous appointment. He showed little tactical nous and only accelerated the club’s plight. By the time Christmas came around, they were floating perilously above the drop zone, so a poor start to 2018 saw him jettisoned too.
Again Nancy opted for an internal appointment, with Patrick Gabriel the man to take over, yet he was, if anything, even less successful. He lasted only a couple of months, scoring just a couple of wins and leading his team to a string of defeats in which they were shut out, with Amine Bassi, one of their few bright spots of the campaign, rooted to the bench.
It took Tholot’s appointment with a couple of months of the season remaining to finally spark them into some kind of life. Three home wins ultimately saved them, but there is serious work to be done over the summer if Nancy are to challenge next term.
Every area of their squad needs a proper examination, but it is their offensive sector that is most urgently in need of surgery. Youssouf Hadji, 38, top scored with 11 goals but he will retire in the summer while Bassi, who got seven, may well be sold. No-one else managed more than four.
More tough times lie ahead.
