Season 1960/1961

Having finished the previous 1959/1960 season in a disappointing 15th place, Stade Rennais began their 1960/1961 First Division campaign minus two key members of the attack. Théo and Ossey, the two top scorers in Red and Black from season before, had left. In an attempt to replace them in numerical terms, Rennes signed Faivre, who would finish 5th top-scorer in the league with 20 goals, and Brotons, who arrived from Algeria. On the arrivals front, Rennes also recruited the versatile Lavaud, and goalkeeper Ferry, following the decimation of the team in terms of available goalkeepers at the end of the previous campaign. The club started the season in promising fashion, quickly moving up to the top half of the table, finishing the first half of the season in seventh place. Alas, a plethora of absences and injuries would tarnish the second half of the campaign, with Rennes going nine matches without a win, which dropped them down to 14th in the table, and with a tough end to the season, were unable to improve on that, finishing just three points above the relegation zone. Rennes had the 14th rated attack, and 12th best defence. In the French Cup, it was also a less-than-glorious campaign, knocked out by the amateurs from Montargis (playing in the Division d'Honneur) in the Round of 64. The end of the season, would also be the end of an era, with First Team Manager, Henri Guérin, leaving the club having been in charge of the club since 1955.