Monday 22 May 2017 14:39, UK
Head coach Laurent Frayssinous has left Catalans with immediate effect, the Super League club have announced.
The news comes a day after Catalans lost 10-18 to Huddersfield during Magic Weekend, their fifth defeat in a row, leaving them ninth in the Super League table.
Frayssinous, who was in his fifth season as head coach of the Perpignan club, has become the second Super League coaching casualty of 2017.
The club released a statement: "This morning, the chairman Bernard Guasch and some members of the board have mutually agreed with Laurent Frayssinous to part company."
Angered by the display in Newcastle, Guasch ordered the squad back to France immediately rather than remain in England for a week of training ahead of the Salford clash, as had been the original plan.
The Dragons look sure to opt for an overseas successor but for now have placed assistant coaches Jerome Guisset and Michael Monaghan in charge, alongside general manager Alex Chan.
It would be no surprise if the Catalans made another play for Dragons' former head coach Mick Potter, who is currently without a club but is due to coach Fiji in the 2017 World Cup. The Dragons reached the Challenge Cup final under Potter in 2007.
Frayssinous joined the club 11 years ago as part of the backroom staff after hanging up his boots. He went on the become assistant coach and then in 2012, Frayssinous became the youngest head coach in Super League and the first Frenchman to coach the Perpignan club.
However, he was never able to match the club's best-ever finish of fourth in 2012 and, after experiencing a dramatic slump in the second half of the 2016 season, the Catalans are currently struggling to reach the top eight.
