Football Season Guide

For a modest club like Niort, after several solid years in the second tier, the question is - can they realistically do any better? Les Chamois finished 10th last season in their fifth consecutive campaign in Ligue 2. They recovered from an awful start to climb the table and only a poor run-in prevented them from finishing higher up. Behind the scenes in western France, the club are hoping to have a brand new 8,500-seat stadium built possibly by 2020. On the pitch they are hoping to maintain a competitive squad going into a second season under Denis Renaud. Last season's star man, the right-back Junior Sambia, has made the a step up to a higher level with Montpellier, but other key players like Cameroonian striker Ande Dona Ndoh remain. Julien Dacosta has arrived from Marseille and is set to replace Sambia, while Cyriaque Rivieyran can play in defence or in midfield and has lots of experience at this level. Pedro Henrique Bueno is another new recruit and is an interesting one. He is a Brazilian, so counts as an exotic arrival, but was playing in the third tier for AS Beziers last season, when he scored or set up 15 goals. He could be used as a left-winger. "We want results to be as good as possible because we are competitors but we also need to look to bring through young players, help them discover Ligue 2 while surrounded by experienced players. But then we also need to get to 42 points as quickly as possible because we have an obligation to get results," said Renaud of the club's aims for the season. "But I don't think we are going to be fighting for promotion. There are 10 historic clubs who are dreaming of going up and who have bigger budgets."