Frenchman Claude Le Roy has been confirmed as the new coach of the Togo national soccer team.

He replaces Tom Saintfiet, who was given a two-year contract to coach the Sparrow Hawks in May 2015.

According to French newspaper L’Equipe, the 68-year-old Le Roy has been entrusted with a contract that will see him take charge of the Togolese side until 2019. The veteran tactician will be able to count on assistant Sebastien Minier, who has assisted him on many previous occasions.

Togo are placed third in their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying group at the moment, with leaders Liberia only two points ahead of them and a match between the two set for June.

Recent disappointing results have cost Saintfiet his job, as Togo only managed a draw and a loss from two matches against Tunisia in AFCON qualifying matches last month, while they were knocked out of World Cup qualifiers against Uganda with a disappointing 4-0 aggregate.

Le Roy is as experienced as they come on the continent, having coached a variety of teams including Cameroon, Ghana and Congo over almost three decades.

He has coached at a record eight African Nations Cup finals, including winning the tournament with Cameroon in 1988.

In total he has been in charge of teams for 35 AFCON matches, only failing to reach the quarter-finals of the competition on a single occasion.

One of his first tasks in charge of the Togolese national team will be to convince star striker Emmanuel Adebayor to represent the Sparrow Hawks on a more consistent basis, which was one of the major failings of Le Roy’s predecessor.