French club Bastia fire coach Makelele

Paris: French Ligue 1 strugglers SC Bastia have sacked coach Claude Makelele after less than six months in charge of the football club.

The 41-year-old former France midfielder replaced Frederic Hantz in the summer, but his first job as a head coach lasted just 12 Ligue 1 games and a Cup of League match, reports Xinhua.

"The adventure ends. These are the risks of being a coach. I accept that," Makelele said after his sacking Monday.

"I would like to thank the club for having confidence in me. It has been a pleasure to coach this team. I am sure they will get out of their current position because the quality is there. I know that SCB will remain in Ligue 1," he added.

Their latest defeat came last Saturday when Bastia lost 0-1 to EA Guingamp.

With a 2-4-6 record, Bastia sit in 19th position among 20 Ligue teams on 10 points from 12 fixtures.

The 41-year-old had spells with Real Madrid and Chelsea before he finished by captaining Paris Saint-Germain.

Makelele then worked as assistant coach at the Parc des Princes and his decision to leave in the summer for Bastia was seen as a big blow to the capital club.

"On the contrary," he said when asked if he felt his experience at the Stade Armand-Cesari had been a bad one.

"For me, there are only positives because it has been a learning curve. I won't make the same mistakes in the future," he added.