Stade Francais have named Leinster boss Michael Cheika as their new director of rugby.

Cheika, who played for Stade in the 1991/2 season, comes in after it was confirmed that current head coach Jacques Delmas would not have his contract renewed in the summer.

Cheika guided Leinster to Heineken Cup success last season and had already confirmed that he would be departing the Irish province at the end of 2009/10 - with his successor being Clermont Auvergne No 2 Joe Schmidt.

He will take over a club that has suffered a traumatic season both on and off the pitch this season.

The 43-year-old Australian has signed a three-year deal with Stade Francais, confirmed a statement on the club website. "Michael Cheika will, of course, be involved in recruiting for next season," it added.

Delmas was brought in after Australian Ewen McKenzie was sacked in September, but with Stade currently languishing in eighth position - and likely to miss the end-of-season play-offs - owner Max Guazzini has run out of patience.

Former Stade coach Fabien Galthié had been tipped to be his replacement, but the Paris club has now announced that Cheika will attempt to restore them to their former pre-eminence. That could, in turn, signify that Galthié has committed elsewhere, with Bayonne have long been linked with his services.

"It's hard but it's part of the job," Delmas told French newspaper Sud-Ouest.

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

Delmas' departure caps 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.

But Delmas isn't the only Top 14 coach to lose his job, with already-relegated SCA Albi finally confirming that long-serving Eric Béchu had also been sacked.

Béchu's departure had long-been anticipated after reports emerged of player unrest as a trying season took its toll. Albi have won just three league games (from 22) all season, with the last defeat finally confirming they would be returning to ProD2 after just one season back in the top flight.

Albi president Bernard Archilla stressed that Béchu's departure should not "be regarded as punishment" and said the man who had been in charge for the last 11 years would still be considered part of the club's history.

Béchu's departure was effectively sealed when a player rebellion registered a vote of no confidence in the coach's training methods earlier this month. Archilla confirmed that assistant coaches Philippe Laurent and Jean-Christophe Bacca would take charge for the club's four remaining Top 14 fixtures.

Béchu, meanwhile, is likely to be in high demand this summer with the likes of Bayonne and Montpellier widely tipped to be seeking his services.