At the end of the 2005–06 season, the club finished fifth. The club's aim was promotion to Ligue 1. During the 2006–07 season, Dijon narrowly missed several opportunities to reach the podium, but finally finished 8th. June 2007 marked the end of an era as Rudi Garcia left to manage Le Mans. The new coach, Serge Romano, led the club to a top-three position during the season for the first time in the club's history, but after the club fell down the table Serge Romano was sacked in December 2007. He was replaced by Faruk Hadžibegić in January 2008 after Frederic Bompard briefly took charge as caretaker. The new coach then saved the club from relegation thanks to a draw on the last day of the season away to AC Ajaccio. The same year, the club reached the quarter finals of the Coupe de France for the first time, but lost to Amiens on 15 April 2008.