Saint-Etienne, Oscar Garcia sever ties on mutual terms

After nearly a decade with Christophe Galtier at the reigns, Saint-Etienne is on the lookout for a second managerial hire in four months after Oscar Garcia stepped down Wednesday.

Les Verts announced the decision with a statement on its website, adding that "Both parties reached an amicable agreement to end the appointment.

"The mutual decision does not include severance pay, and Oscar Garcia did not request to be paid beyond his last day of work," the statement continued.

While Saint-Etienne did not elaborate on the reasons for Garcia's exit, reports out of France suggest he and the board did not see eye to eye after a series of transfer window disagreements.

The Spaniard leaves Saint-Etienne after just 12 league matches, with the club sitting sixth in the table, six points adrift of fourth-placed Marseille and a coveted Europa League spot. Garcia's last match in charge was the 5-0 Rhone-Alpes derby defeat to bitter rival Lyon at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

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Garcia, who took the Saint-Etienne gig in June on a two-year deal after New York City FC boss Patrick Vieira turned down the chance to be Galtier's successor, previously enjoyed spells in charge of Red Bull Salzburg, Watford, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Garcia's assistants, Ruben Martinez, Enrique Sanz, and Antonio Puche, have also left the club, with former player Julien Sable assuming first-team coaching duties on an interim basis ahead of Les Verts return to Ligue 1 action Friday at Lille.