By Jean-Paul Couret

Crisis-hit Paris St Germain appointed former Olympique Lyon and Rangers manager Paul Le Guen as coach after sacking Bernard Lacombe on Monday.

"From today, Guy Lacombe is not in charge of coaching the professional team. The role is handed to Paul Le Guen and his assistant Yves Collieu," the Ligue 1 club said in a statement.

Le Guen, who played for seven seasons with PSG in the 1990s, led  Lyon to three successive Ligue 1 titles from 2003 to 2005. He joined Rangers at the start of the season but left by mutual consent earlier this month after a disappointing spell in Glasgow. He will make his first appearance as PSG boss on Wednesday in a re-scheduled Ligue 1 home game against Toulouse.

Lacombe was appointed PSG coach in December 2005. The club have only won four Ligue 1 games this season and have slid to 17th, just one spot and two points above the drop zone. Under his tenure, the capital side, who have been plagued by hooliganism since they were founded in 1970, also experienced crisis off the pitch.

Last November a policeman shot dead a 25-year-old fan outside the Parc des Princes while under attack from supporters shouting racist insults and chasing a French Jewish supporter of Hapoel. The Boulogne Kop, an area of the Parc des Princes where Paris St Germain's most extreme fans traditionally assemble, has been closed since on police orders.