体坛英语新闻：Garcia quits as Saint-Etienne head coach

PARIS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ligue 1 outfit Saint-Etienne have severed their collaboration with head coach Oscar Garcia, the club announced on Wednesday, just five months after the Spaniard took over the position.

"Oscar Garcia has expressed his wish to leave Saint-Etienne. Both sides have reached an agreement to end their collaboration," the club said in a statement.

Garcia, 44, signed a two-year contract with 10-time top flight league winner Saint-Etienne on June 15. He replaced Christophe Galtier, who made a decision to leave after spending the past seven and a half years with the team.

Garcia led Saint-Etienne to a strong start of the season, before the current sixth-ranked team just nailed one win from their past seven matches. They were crushed 5-0 by Lyon in a derby at home on November 5, after being eliminated by Strasbourg in French League Cup round of 32 through penalty shootout.

The former Barcelona player took over the rein in Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg in 2015, and led the team to finish a double of league and cup titles for two seasons in a row.

Saint-Etienne added that the contracts of assistant coaches, Ruben Martinez, Enrique Sanz and Antonio Puche, were also terminated.

"The club would like to thank Oscar Garcia, Ruben Martinez, Enrique Sanz and Antonio Puche for their professionalism," read the statement. Enditem