When Belgian-born English manager Will Still took over Stade de Reims, they were in dire straits.
Languishing in Ligue 1's relegation zone, they took a punt on the then assistant coach.
"When I took over back in October, we were 17th, 18th in the league so the first message from the board was Will, get us out of trouble," the 30-year-old said.
But Still did so well as a caretaker manager in a six-game trial period, he was appointed as head coach.
The only problem was, he didn't have a UEFA A-level coaching degree, meaning every game he was in charge of Reims, the club would suffer a NZ$40,000 fine from Ligue 1 officials.
"People say 'why hasn't he done it before, why hasn't he done this or done that' it's like well, I'm only 30 and couldn't get on the course any earlier because normally it's reserved for ex-pros or coaches."
"I've only just started it to be honest," Still said with a wry smile.
Now on a 14-game unbeaten run in the French league and cup since taking over in October, those fines have racked up to more than NZ$500,000.
"Every game I'm in charge, the club gets fined I think €25,000. The club have asked for a derogation to avoid the fines and say this is stupid."
But Still is proving to be worth every penny, with the team now tenth on the table and yet to lose a competitive match.
Reims also boast the current Ligue 1 golden boot leader, Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun, who has scored 14 goals so far this season, more than PSG stars Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi.
In fact that's not the only thing Reims have managed to get over the Parisian glamour club, managing a last gasp 1-1 draw against the league leaders last week.
"If you told me five or six years ago that I’d be standing there trying to tell my defenders how to defend against Messi, Mbappe and Neymar, I'd have probably said punch me in the face. It sounds completely stupid.
"The little boy that was inside me was just standing there with stars in his eyes."
That little boy inspired to become a coach through the football simulation computer game, Football Manager.
His first gig was in 2011 coaching Preston North End's under 14s team before progressing into Belgian football where he started as a video analyst, later earning some limited experience in the dugout as a manager.
While he's now living out his dream with Reims, there is one club he would love to one day manage.
"If I say it I'm scared teams might not want to ring me up but, West Ham, I've always been a big West Ham fan."
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