Montpellier appoints Rolland Courbis as coach

MONTPELLIER, France (AP) — Rolland Courbis returned Monday to Montpellier as coach to revive the fortunes of a club he helped gain promotion four years ago.

Montpellier is 17th in the French league, five points above the relegation zone. It drew 1-1 with Toulouse on Sunday to stretch its winless streak to nine games in all competitions.

"I'm not coming in as a magician. I don't believe in shock therapy," Courbis told a news conference.

Courbis is succeeding Jean Fernandez, who resigned last week. Fernandez was hired in the summer, a year after Montpellier won its only French league title.

"In the short term, the priority is the two matches coming up," Courbis said, "then the winter break, and whatever the result of our matches against Saint-Etienne and Bastia, some brainstorming every five months to fix things so that we can look like an outsider next season."

Courbis was a Montpellier coach from 2007 to 2009 when the club was still in the second division. He also led Marseille to the final of the 1998-99 UEFA Cup, although the team lost 3-0 to Italian side Parma.