Quimpérois win promotion to Division 1. Moreover, the club already had or would have on its payroll players who were former football club colleagues of Mahut, such as Michel Ettore, José Souto and Eugène Ekéké. Mahut played 48 league matches (all of them Division 2) and scored 3 league goals for Stade Quimpérois in his one and a half seasons there from 1988 to 1989. Stade Quimpérois finished in fourth position in Group A of the 1988–89 French Division 2, which was its best ever finish in Division 2. It was thus beaten to the Division 1 promotion play-offs by Rennes, which finished Group A in third position level on points with Stade Quimpérois but with a superior goal difference. In his first season with the club, Mahut played 33 out of 34 league matches and scored one league goal. The 1989–90 season would prove to be a difficult one for the players of Stade Quimpérois because the club was experiencing major financial problems. These financial problems not only thwarted the club management's dreams of promotion to Division 1 but also forced the club to sell some of its players, including Mahut, between October and November 1989. During the first half of the 1989–90 Division 2 season, Jean-Pierre Hureau, who was then the president of Le Havre, traveled to Quimper to talk Mahut into joining his club. Le Havre In October 1989, Mahut signed a two-year contract to join Le Havre (which was then in Division 2), where he became the club captain. During his almost four years there, he extended his contract twice and scored 7 goals in 118 leagues matches and 2 goals in 7 domestic cup matches. Le Havre won the 1990–91 French Division 2 title. On 29 May 1993, he played the last match of his professional football career – a Division 1 match (his 422nd and last Division 1 match) against AJ Auxerre at Stade Jules Deschaseaux, Le Havre's home stadium. In his first season with Le Havre, Mahut played 18 league matches and scored 1 league goal. The club finished in 5th position and had the second-best defense in Group B of the 1989–90 French Division 2. In his second season with Le Havre, Mahut became the club captain, played 32 league matches and scored 4 league goals. The club finished in 1st position in Group B of the 1990–91 French Division 2, 5