Garcia plots return to Europe at Marseille
Marseille coach Rudi Garcia set the struggling French giants the goal of qualifying for Europe next season, a day after he was appointed the Ligue 1 club's new boss.
The former Lille and Roma manager has penned a three-year contract at the Stade Velodrome, where his task is to resurrect a side that slumped to its worst league finish in 15 years last season.
However, he will have just two full days to prepare for Sunday's clash away to bitter rivals Paris Saint-Germain, who have beaten Marseille in each of their last 10 meetings.
"I'll have to go about things quickly to get to know the players, to know them personally as well, because behind each player there is a human being," Garcia told a press conference on Friday.
Two wins in three have boosted OM, but the nine-time French champions remain 12th in the table and Garcia admits there is plenty of work to do following a 13th-place finish last term.
"For the moment we are still in the bottom part of the table, first we have to get back into the top half," said Garcia, who singled out the domestic cups as priorities for his new side.
"I hope that by the end of the season we will be in a position to at least qualify for Europe, even if it's the Europa League."
US tycoon Frank McCourt, who completed his purchase of Marseille on Monday, vowed to invest 200 million euros into the club to help restore their former glory.
Garcia, who was sacked by Roma in January having guided the Italian outfit to successive runner-up finishes, admitted the squad he is inheriting at OM desperately needed strengthening.
"The group will need some changes, more quality and quantity. Particularly with the Africa Cup of Nations," said Garcia, with the continental showpiece to run from January 14 to February 5 next year.
"I built a team in Dijon, I did it at Lille and I want to do it here too.
"I'm coming from Rome. You know the saying, it wasn't built in a day, Marseille neither."
Garcia's desire to one day win the Champions League convinced McCourt that the 52-year-old was the right man to steer the 1993 European champions back towards the top, but the Frenchman made no attempt to downplay the magnitude of the job on his hands.
"That means lots of time, work time, sweat, decision, unity, motivation to, step by step, take Marseille back to where they should be, among Europe's big clubs," he added.