AS Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell said that the squad failed to play to their real potential until Christamas which forced the decision of parting ways with the former Bayern Munich coach.
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AS Monaco parted ways with Croatian head coach Niko Kovac earlier this month, leaving the football fraternity in shock. It was Kovac who developed Monaco from avoiding relegation battle to becoming Ligue 1 title contenders within a span of 18 months. “Niko Kovac arrived in the Principality in July 2020 and led the team 74 times. AS Monaco will announce the name of its new head coach very soon. Until then, Stéphane Nado, coach of the reserves, will train the first team,” the club said in a statement earlier in January.
Under Kovac, with the side being largely benefitted with the arrivals of Kevin Volland and Caio Henrique, the squad looked energetic and played some fluid football to challenge the title under 3-6-1 or 4-4-2 formation preferred by the Croatian. It was also notable that almost every player improved during the Kovac reign which later raised multiple eyebrows during his sacking.
However, speaking on behalf of the club and explaining the decision, AS Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell said that the squad failed to play to their real potential until Christamas which forced the decision of parting ways with the former Bayern Munich coach.
“The performances from this summer until Christmas have shown us that we weren’t fulfilling our full potential. After the second half of last season, we thought we had a head start on our rivals. Our owners allowed us to keep all our players and strengthen the group to compete on all fronts but we’ve never been in the top five this season,” AS Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell explained.
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Belgian football manager Philippe Clement, who took over from Kovac, meanwhile said at his unveiling that he is looking for “lots of commitment and desire”, adding that he has “used different systems but always with the idea of being dominant”.
It is expected that he will use a less rigid system in comparison to the Croatian. Kovac had overseen a period where AS Monaco players were starting to gain momentum and thus Clement will have his task cut to further improve the squad.
The former defender has previously managed Club Brugge, Genk, Waasland-Beveren after graduating through the ranks from the Belgian club as a scout, caretaker manager and assistant manager from 2011.
Monaco is currently at the seventh spot in the Ligue 1 table with 30 points from 20 outings. The club will next play Clermont Foot in the league fixture after playing out a goalless draw against Nantes.
