There are perhaps only two reasons to visit the city of Reims. First you have to make sure you visit the beautiful Notre-Dame de Reims, and then find a bar and indulge in a glass (or two) of Champagne. Since regaining promotion to Ligue 1 in 2012, the football team has been far from enticing.

Stade de Reims have been flat and lacking a certain fizz or sparkle, something you wouldn’t expect in the region, but now under the guidance of Olivier Guégan, things may be turning around at the Stade August Delaune.

Last season, with the club 16^th in the table, Jean-Luc Vasseur was relieved of his duties and Guégan, his assistant and a former Reims player was given the job to make sure the club kept their Ligue 1 status with seven games left.

Born in the same Parisian suburb as Benjamin Mendy and Jeremy Menez, after making over 170 appearances for the Reims over two spells, there was no doubting Guégan’s passion, but it was his managerial experience that was under the spotlight. He would win three games – a 3-1 victory over Evian was vital – two of his defeats came against Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain, and Reims finished in 15^th – one place higher than when Vasseur was let go.

The signs were bright enough that the 43-year-old was confirmed as the permanent boss. The team would be his to mould and change in the summer.

However, there was no major overhaul: Chris Mavinga and Valentin Roberge ended their loan deals, Benjamin Moukandjo moved to Lorient, and Gaetan Courtet, Christopher Glombard and Mads Albaek also left the club.

In their place, Guégan acquired Georgian midfielder Jaba Kankava from Dnipro, Frédéric Bulot from Standard Liege, Hugo Rodriguez from Arles-Avignon and Hamari Traore from Lierse, while Atila Turan returned from his loan spell in Turkey.

Hardly names worth getting excited about.

As statistics go, last season, Reims were the epitome of average. They averaged 11.6 shots per game, putting them 11^th in the table, and they kept 49.3% possession during games. Only Caen allowed more shots as a team than Reims, at 12.9 per game. They themselves average 3.6 shots on target (14^th) and were 15^th in goals scored from open play. A big thank you should go to Aissa Mandi, as his headers helped the club score 18 goals from set-pieces, better than anyone in Ligue 1 – but far from something to shout about.

No one would have predicted the fantastic start Guégan’s men would deliver this season.

After going 1-0 down to Bordeaux on the opening day, the coach made changes in the second half, bringing on youngsters Grejohn Kyei and Jordan Siebatcheu – both would make an instant impact. Kyei had a hand in both goals, setting up Siebatcheu for his first professional goal.

“I am very satisfied with the second-half display and it is a very interesting victory because not every team in this league will come here and win,” said Guégan after the 2-1 victory. “The youngsters came on and did well. Kyei was already with us last season, Siebatcheu is improving and they have already done well in pre-season. It is good that we are able to call on players from the academy and we will be more and more dependent on them in the future. The youngsters bring so much to the squad, including an insouciance. We need to channel that too.”

Reims are far from a team of kids, but Mandi, Traore, Alexi Peuget and Nicolas De Preville are all 24 or under – add them to the experience of Franck Signorino, Anthony Weber and David N’Gog and there is certainly a nice blend on both sides of the spectrum.

Much fancied for a relegation battle, the club have done well to deal with the early injury problems to Diego, Mohamed Fofana and Odair Fortes.

New players have started well, rightback Traore scoring a stunning long-range effort to beat Marseille 1-0 at home, but the real test came before the international break.

After losing 1-0 to Nantes on the road, Reims could have easily resorted to type, and Guégan knew it: “Salvaging a result from this game proved too much to hope for, even if we had a chance from the end for a smash and grab. A good team always bounces back after a poor performance. Our use of the ball was not good, the set pieces were not great either. It was a bad night.”

Facing Lorient back at home was his first big test, and he came through it with flying colours. In the previous games he had stuck with the now recognisable 4-1-4-1 and the personnel had barely changed either. Against Lorient he went with 4-4-2, bringing Gaetan Charbonnier, Turan and Kyei in for their first starts of the season. He dropped Prince Oniangue, taking away his drive from the midfield, opting for the more functional duo of Antoine Devaux and Peuget.

De Preville’s excellent low finish gave the home side a 2-1 lead in the second half and they never looked back. Kyei then showed composure, skill and strength on the ball to finish after he latched on to a through ball from De Preville, the youngster turning back onto his right before firing past Florent Chaigneau.

With just five minutes to go, Guégan’s managerial master-stroke was complete when substitute Siebatcheu set up Turan with a low cross to seal the 4-1 victory.

It’s hard to quantify what the coach has changed in terms of playing style. All the stats read very close to what they achieved last year, the formation has mostly been the same, but Guégan has shown no fear in regard to changing things up.

“It was a great win, we played the game I expected us to play. We were determined to make amends after the Nantes game,” said Guégan after the win. “I don’t look at the table, I look at the number of points, and nine out of 12 is very satisfying. We have 15 days to recover now and look ahead to the next five games. We have to be ambitious and the first of those ambitions will be to prepare the match against Toulouse to win it.”

That extra injection of youthful exuberance from Kyei, Traore and Siebatcheu, plus the contining development of De Preville, Peuget and Mandi has given Reims a fresh look this season.

It is far too early to jump the gun, and the champagne is definitely still on ice, but they are showing enough belief in themselves and what they have done so far, that there may now be a third reason to visit Reims this season.