Roger Lemerre
The step backwards was very brief and immediate promotion back to the French elite level was achieved in 1979 with Roger Lemerre as head coach. During the 1980s, Gérard Houllier and Joachim Marx succeeded him. These were great gains to the team, even though the club lost important players such as Didier Sénac, Gaëtan Huard and Philippe Vercruysse.