by Guy Briet. Saint-Étienne finished the 1982–83 Division 1 season in 14th position, only 3 points more than the highest-ranked (18th position) of the bottom three clubs that was to contest the Division 1/2 promotion/relegation, two-legged playoff. In the 1982-1983 season, Mahut played in a UEFA club competition - the 1982–83 UEFA Cup - for the only time in his career. In that competition, Saint-Étienne was eliminated 4-0 on aggregate by Bohemians CKD Praha in the second round and Mahut played all the 4 matches the club was involved in but he did not score any goals. The summer of 1983 really marked the end of the club's golden era, with the departure of good players like Patrick Battiston, Bernard Genghini and Gérard Janvion, etc. They were replaced by players of lower quality and hence the squad was severely weakened for the 1983-84 season. Mahut and his teammates experienced another difficult season, and the club finished the 1983–84 French Division 1 season in 18th position. Saint-Étienne lost the following Division 1/2 promotion/relegation, two-legged playoff to Racing Club de Paris 2-0 on aggregate and were relegated to Division 2. Saint-Étienne had been in Division 1 every year since 1963. RC Paris/Matra Racing From 1984 to 1988, Mahut played for RC Paris/Matra Racing, during which he scored 12 goals in 131 leagues matches and 1 goal in 16 domestic cup matches. They won the Division 2 title at the end of the 1985–1986 season and won promotion to Division 1 for the 1986–1987 season. RC Paris had bad match results during the first half of the 1984–85 French Division 1 season, which cost head coach Alain de Martigny his job in January 1985. He was replaced by Victor Zvunka. The club finished rock bottom of the Division 1 table and was relegated to Division 2, just one year after winning promotion to Division 1. Despite its relegation to Division 2, the owner and president of the club, Jean-Luc Lagardère, got the club to undergo a major recruitment exercise by signing several new and reputable players for the 1985-86 season, including Maxime Bossis. It also appointed a new head coach, Silvester Takač for that new season. Mahut and his teammates helped the club to win Group B of the 1985–86 Division 2 by a six-point margin. The club later won the 1985–86 French Division 2 title by beating Saint-Étienne 4-3 on aggregate in