Toulon boss Mourad Boudjellal has rubbished speculation John Connolly could replace Tana Umaga as coach of the club.

It was reported last month the former Wallabies coach talked to the owner of Toulon about taking over from Umaga at the southern French club, which is struggling near the bottom of the Top 14 points table.

There was further misery for the club on Friday when they were smashed 56-3 by Northampton in the European Challenge Cup.

But Boudjellal revealed he was asked to meet Connolly but turned him down when he realised what the meeting was about.

"There was a request for a meeting which I didn't say no to initially, because I must always think and prepare for the future.

"But then I declined the meeting when I saw what it was about," Boudjellal said.

"You know I meet people regularly without hiring them. And today I want to repeat there is no question of me replacing Tana Umaga.

"He will remain the coach of the team along with Jean-Jacques Crenca."

Boudjellal publicly criticised Umaga after the 25-18 loss to Mount-de-Marsan in early September.

"I'm going to talk to him," Boudjellal said after the third-round loss.

"In six halves since the start of the season, we have played well in only one of them. We must improve on that."

He described the loss to Mount de Marsan as: "the most shameful bonus point in the history of rugby."

Boudjellal now says of that outburst he wanted to impress on Umaga what the Toulon club was all about.

"I just recounted certain things to him afterwards to point out the virtues of the Toulon culture to him. He understood that, even though it's not his culture.

"There are ways to improve and we're working on that together.

"I have lived a long time in the euphoria of the rise of Toulon and perhaps it took me a little too long to realise we're in the Top 14 and what it's like here.

"Now I am in the real world and better armed for the rest of the season."

But going forward Boudjellal said he would judge the club based on his own instincts, not on what other people tell him.

"It's important I continue to listen to me.

"There are players who I wanted but I didn't get because I was wrongly advised against getting them.

"I've also learnt a lesson about what happened with Daniel Carter, because I believed the deal was done and because of that I wasn't looking at who was available.

"Really, I must trust my instinct."

He said the target is to stay in the Top 14 and be in a healthy financial position. He would sign 5-6 more players next season.