Reports in the French press claim Stade Francais owner Max Guazzini has run out of patience with head coach Jacques Delmas and will not renew his contract in the summer.

Delmas - who led Biarritz to two French championships and a Heineken Cup final - was only brought in after previous head coach Ewen McKenzie was sacked in September 2009.

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Stade began brightly under Delmas' stewardship but have struggled in recent months and now find themselves sitting eighth in the league and facing the prospect of missing out on the end-of-season play-offs for the first time since 2000/01 - and that despite the format being extended to include six rather than four teams.

In addition to the disappointment of being excluded from France's showpiece climax that would also mean the Parisians would have to win this season's Heineken Cup to secure inclusion in next season's tournament. To do so they will have to overcome the odds to beat Stade Toulousain away in the quarter-finals - an unlikely prospect given that Guy Noves' team humiliated them 0-29 at the Stade de France recently.

Guazzini made a public apology to the fans after that catastrophic defeat and now it seems that Delmas will pay the price. Stade have now lost three of their last four league games - to Castres, Stade Toulousain and Brive - and could also go down in the next two as they take on Perpignan (a) and Clermont Auvergne (h).

According to Midi Olympique Guazzini has now had enough and will call time on Delmas' contract in the summer - when it was due for review anyway. The French rugby paper claims that Guazzini has been in contact with former head coach Fabien Galthié with the aim of bringing him back on board as 'sporting director'.

It suggests that Delmas' assistant Didier Faugeron - currently backs coach - would stay on as the club looks to cut costs in the current economic climate.

If Delmas does go it would cap a traumatic season for the big-spending capital club, following McKenzie's sacking, the lengthy bans for Julien Dupuy and David Attoub, the club-versus-country fiasco involving James Haskell and the general on-field disappointments.

To put their results into perspective only one club - already relegated SCA Albi - has recorded fewer wins in Top 14 than Stade's lowly eight.

On a slightly brighter note two of the club's English players have been belatedly called up for international duty this week with lock Tom Palmer put on standby as cover for England captain Steve Borthwick - who remains uncertain for Saturday's Six Nations clash with France - while tyro scrum-half Charlie Davies, 19, has been added to England's Under-20 squad to play their French counterparts at Saint Nazaire on Sunday.

The former Nottingham player has made four Top 14 appearances for Stade this season and has been called up to replace Gloucester's Jordi Pasqualin.

Meanwhile, a third British player within the Stade squad - Simon Taylor - has confirmed that he will be departing in the summer to take up a contract with Bath Rugby.

Scotland and British Lion international Taylor has been at Stade since 2007 and said the opportunity to play in the Guinness Premiership had been too good to turn down.

"I am very excited to be heading to Bath," he said. "Bath has a fantastic squad with a great style of play. I think that they have real vision for the future, and I want to be part of that. It will also be the first time that I have played in the Guinness Premiership, which is something I am looking forward to. Having played in the Magners League and Top 14, the new challenge that another competition brings will be great," he added.