Australian Ewen McKenzie has vowed not to shake up top French club rugby union Stade Francais when he takes over as their new coach, insisting he already has European Cup glory lined up in his crosshairs.

The 1991 World Cup winner and Australia's most capped prop was named last week as the replacement for Fabien Galthie, whose last game in charge was Stade's 31-13 loss to Toulouse in the league play-off semi-finals on Sunday.

Stade Francais have been ever present at the top of French rugby for the last ten years having won the Top 14 championship on five occasions, the last time in 2007.

And the 42-year-old McKenzie, who played for the Paris-based PUC team from 1982-4, told AFP in an interview in Sydney that it was unlikely that he would rock the apple cart.

"The goal for me is not to re-do what I've done here with the Waratahs," he said.

"The context is different. First of all I must assimilate by taking on board as much information as possible and getting back into speaking French, which is a real challenge for me.

"I love winning no matter what the competition. The European Cup is a great goal. I've signed a three-year contract," he said, adding: "There's never a coach who lasts forever and I don't have a three-year plan.

"I want to win from tomorrow, to take difficult decisions quickly but I don't expect to change everything. If everything needed changing, Stade Francais would not have reached the semi-finals.

"I want to keep what works and improve the things that aren't."

The Australian gave a positive spin on one of the problems cited by the outgoing Galthie - the club's poor infrastructure.

"Infrastructure could become a problem if we want to make one of it. If not, it works. I visited them when I came to Paris. It's been the same thing here. Nothing's ever perfect. There are good things and weaknesses.

"You just have to work on the strong points and boost them."

McKenzie said his focus would be much more on his goals for a squad crammed full of talented international players.

"What I want is a team that is a consistent winner, at home and away. Paris has lots of internationals who play a lot of big matches," he said.

"Motivation is very important to develop a dynamic.

"We have to concentrate on the little details and set goals for ourselves. In my eyes, the best players are those who play at 80 per cent every weekend and not 100 per cent one Saturday and 50 per cent the next.

"It's important not to continuously change the team, but at the same time to rest some players and give everybody a chance. A stable team is one that performs better in the big matches."

McKenzie will work with the current forwards coach, Fabrice Landreau, and did not rule out an opening for Christophe Dominici, the veteran Stade and France winger who retired after the weekend.

"It would have been easy for me to have brought my own backroom staff but my work is to understand what's behind Stade's success, its culture.

"The people involved in this success have things to bring to the table and will make the transition easier."

McKenzie was quick to dispel any speculation that he would pose naked for Stade's infamous "Gods of the stadium" calendar, declaring "I don't think I've quite got the body for that."

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