Marseille SACK Gennaro Gattuso after 'rock bottom' admission from fiery Italian coach - with Jean-Louis Gasset drafted in as his replacement just weeks after shock Ivory Coast AFCON dismissal

The French club decided to sack the Italian coach just two days after they went down 1-0 against Brest in Ligue 1. It was their ninth defeat of the 2023-24 season and leaves Marseille down in 10th in the league. In the aftermath of the Brest defeat, a furious Gattuso claimed that the team had hit "rock-bottom". He added in his post-match press conference: "When you hit rock bottom, you have to take responsibility. It's my responsibility. There is nothing else to say. The table? The truth is that we're going to have to start looking behind us. We can no longer speak about Europe. We just need to take the necessary points to be calm in the standings."

The club have also announced the former Italy international's replacement, with former Ivory Coast boss Jean-Louis Gasset taking charge.

The official statement from the club regarding Gattuso's sacking read: "Olympique de Marseille announces the end of its collaboration with Gennaro Gattuso. Olympique de Marseille would like to particularly thank Gennaro and all of his staff for the flawless investment and great professionalism they have shown on a daily basis and wish them good luck for the future."

After being appointed as the new head coach, Gasset told the club's official website: "It is a huge honour for me to join this legendary club that is Olympique de Marseille. I can't wait to start working with this group to prepare for the next deadlines and give the best of ourselves."

The 70-year-old French coach grabbed the headlines in the recently concluded AFCON as he was sacked midway into the competition by the host nation. The Ivory Coast, who eventually lifted the trophy, failed to make the top two in their group after a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Equatorial Guinea on matchday three, which led to Gasset's departure, but they still qualified for the knockout stage as one of the four best third-placed teams.

Marseille will now shift their focus to European football as they are set to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the second leg of their Europa League knockout play-offs tie.