Deschamps down but not out

Longest-serving coach
On Monday, the most decorated player in French history resigned as AS Monaco FC coach after a series of unsatisfactory results both in the championship and the UEFA Champions League. It was a sad end to Deschamps' first coaching job, which started in June 2001 and whose highlight was Monaco's appearance at the 2004 Champions League final. He was also the longest-serving coach in the French top flight following legendary AJ Auxerre trainer Guy Roux's retirement.

'Learn lessons'
"In professional football, life is full of highs and lows. Sometimes you need to learn lessons from the hard times and use them to bounce back later," said Deschamps. "My decision was the best one given the situation. These four years will stay with me forever." Deschamps' resignation came as no surprise in France considering the mounting tension in his relationship both with players and directors, which had its origins in Monaco's exit from the Champions League.

Public dissent
Third in Ligue 1 in 2004/05, they were drawn in the third qualifying round and faced a tough challenge against Spanish side Real Betis Balompié. Yet Monaco left their summer recruitment drive so late that by the time signings such as Olivier Kapo, Camel Meriem and Gerard López had settled, their new employers were out of Europe's top club competition. "If you want to enter the Champions League, you need to strengthen your team before the qualifying round, not after," said French international left-back Patrice Evra.

'Not a big club'
President Michel Pastor's response made it clear where he believed the responsibility lay - Deschamps. "All the new signings have been decided in full agreement with the sporting management," he said. The 36-year-old Basque countered, bemoaning the lack of financial means at his disposal, and uttering words of such instant notoriety they could be carved on his gravestone: "Monaco are not a big club."

Competitive instincts
A midweek UEFA Cup win against Willem II failed to quell the storm, and Sunday's 2-0 home defeat by Stade Rennais FC, which Monaco finished with nine men, proved the final straw. Four defeats in seven league games have already left the principality outfit ten points behind leaders Olympique Lyonnais. A FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and Champions League winner (twice, with Olympique de Marseille and Juventus FC), Deschamps' competitive instincts could not bear the thought of a mid-table finish, and he fell on his sword.

Swift succession
Pastor turned to the safest pair of hands imaginable, 'eternal' assistant coach Jean Petit, a fixture at the club since 1969. "Didier could not, and did not want to, do any more," he said. If Deschamps needed cheering up, he should remember that Petit said something similar when Arsène Wenger left in 1995, before a brief sojourn in Japan and a wildly successful spell at Arsenal FC. Petit does not have long to make his name, as Pastor intends a swift succession. "He will fill the gap for a couple of matches and no more," said Pastor. "We are receiving plenty of offers. In a fortnight we will have decided."