French legend Valérien Ismail has officially taken over as head coach of Le Havre, with a contract that runs until the end of this season.

Le Havre announced on Thursday the official appointment of 51-year-old Italian legend Valérien Ismail as first-team coach. He will replace Didier Dugal, who was sacked two weeks ago, and his contract will last until the end of the season.

Ismail has been unemployed since leaving Blackburn Rovers in February. His appointment as manager of Le Havre marks his return to professional football after a nine-month hiatus.

Following Ismail's appointment, Le Havre issued a statement saying, "The selection process was led by the club's president and sporting director and supported by the various departments of the Blue Crow Sports Group. The new manager was selected in accordance with several key criteria recently discussed and determined by the club, and his arrival coincides with the first team's resumption of training."

"Valérian Ismail describes himself as a diligent and dedicated person. He emphasizes that everyone should respect the club and all its components, from administrators to the fans. He also has unwavering faith in Le Havre's development plans."

The official statement also confirmed that Ismail will have three assistants to support him after taking office. They are assistant coaches Denis Balaznovski and Mo Sali, and goalkeeping coach Charles Cheslinski.

Ismail had a brilliant playing career, winning one Intertoto Cup, one French Cup, two French League Cups, three Bundesliga titles, and two German Cups with Strasbourg, Lens, Werder Bremen, and Bayern Munich. Shortly after retiring, he transitioned into coaching, managing numerous teams including Nuremberg, Wolfsburg, Smirnoff, LASK Linz, Barnsley, West Bromwich Albion, Besiktas, Watford, and Blackburn Rovers.

According to Transfermarkt statistics, Ismail has accumulated a record of 189 wins, 79 draws and 127 losses in his coaching career to date.

For Le Havre, Ismail's main task after taking over is to lead the team out of the relegation crisis. Le Havre's form has been consistently poor this season, and after 10 games, they are at the bottom of Ligue 1 with a record of 2 draws and 8 losses, accumulating 2 points and conceding a staggering 22 goals.

Image source: Internet/Le Havre official website