Stambouli changed his mind and will now lead the Hawks

Henri Stambouli has been named as the new coach of Togo, just days after he apparently ruled himself out of the job.

Stambouli had signed for French third division side Istres after failing to agree terms with Togo.

But he has now been unveiled as the new Togo coach and will take charge of the side for the first time this weekend, when they meet Zambia.

"Today is a big day, a seminal moment for Togolese football," Stambouli said.

"I hope that we are really going to think about the future."

Referring to the dispute which seemed to have ended hopes of him taking over, he said his sudden departure had been designed to put pressure on the Togolese Football Federation.

"I put a little bit of pressure on the federation, not over problems with the contract but over the internal structure and the organisation."

Stambouli has previously coached Guinea and Mali.

Togo will face Zambia in Accra in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup and Nations Cup qualifiers on 31 May.

They are playing in the Ghanaian capital because of a ban on international matches in Lome.

That was imposed after serious crowd trouble during Togo's final qualifying match for Ghana 2008.