The British sporting director of AS Monaco, Paul Mitchell, took stock of the Monegasque season which ended in 3rd place in Ligue 1, in the round of 16 of the Europa League and semi-final of the Coupe de France. Often announced on departure, the leader reaffirms his wish to stay on the Rock to continue to grow the club. He talks about the confidence of its president, looks back on the appointment of Philippe Clément to replace Niko Kovac, also talks about the past transfer window and the one to come as well as his ambitions for the Principality club.

Paul, how do you feel with this second place in Ligue 1 which escaped in the last seconds of the last day?

We could also have finished fourth (he smiles). Above all I am proud of the team and especially of their reaction since January. I wanted to see consistency in this group which is still young and they gave me everything they had until the last moments. I still have this bitter taste but as the days go by I feel a sense of pride. From January to May, we did an incredible job of taking the same number of points as PSG.

Dismissing Niko Kovac has been criticized a lot, whether by some observers or supporters, but Philippe Clément has proven himself… How do you see him?

I don’t like looking at this decision as good or bad and having the results prove you right or wrong. It was a moment when we felt we needed a change, a new voice, we had lost six positions in the last games… We wanted more consistency in the group, we felt that some players were not maximized in their potential and growth. It was time to change. When you make a change, 50% of people will think it’s a good thing, 50% the opposite, it’s modern society but internally we know a little more, we can feel what’s going on. going on in the group, see how it develops and thus use our experience, our objective measures to follow the development of the team. We had the opportunity to bring Philippe (Clément). It’s a winner who had a different management of a group, who could carry this new voice and bring this group further. As always, it’s great when it works.

Your recruitment has also been the subject of several criticisms this season. Some recruits revealed themselves at the end of the championship. Are you satisfied with their contribution?

I think I am. Like when we felt it was time to change coaches, we felt there was more potential in general in the whole team. If you take a more experienced player like Wissam Ben Yedder, look at what rookies have changed for him. They revitalized him and he had one of the most prolific seasons of his career. They also had an impact on Youssouf Fofana for example. He finished so strong last season but couldn’t find the same connection and rhythm with the coach at the start of the season. We knew that the recruits we brought in had potential and qualities but that they hadn’t shown them yet. I understand then that the supporters were frustrated not to see them. I think I can say now the season is over that as a whole everyone added value at different levels and in different ways. Overall, we are happy with the progress of the team.

Being second or third is not the same thing for a sporting director regarding the upcoming transfer window…

It is true that it is becoming more complicated, the market is becoming more aggressive, it is waking up from the Covid. We have planned, as always, we have a strategic objective of growth and development of the club which will give us more clarity on the position to have next season. I also think about what we have done in recent years, we have created. Not only have we rebuilt the infrastructure but also rebuilt Monaco’s image in Europe. I think that should give us real strength to get good profiles and improve the team.

It will certainly be without Aurélien Tchouaméni who, according to our information, will join Liverpool or Real Madrid…

(Laughs) I don’t have a preference to be honest. As always when you sell a player, there needs to be fair compensation. The market is different every year. Everyone was able to realize what a top player Aurélien is, but everyone also knows that we are an ambitious club with an ambitious shareholder, so no, I have no preference when it comes to selling him. We will have to be very aggressive in terms of supply for us to lose such a gifted authorized player.

If he leaves, Philippe Clément said it will be difficult to find a player of his caliber to replace him. How to anticipate?

That’s why he’s so sought after (laughs), because the market is usually pretty smart especially in the clubs you mentioned. That’s why replacing him will be considered difficult but we will try to increase the full capacity of the team. I think it’s important to keep building the team and not just focus on the individuals that make it up. We have a very competitive style of play and for us it would be a mark of success to build the volume of the team and the quality of the whole group because we are also going to come out of the pre-season with matches that are will continue until mid-September. That’s why I think replacing Aurélien Tchouaméni at that time would be a difficult task, but it would be for anyone.

About you, your name came back a lot in England, the rumors were persistent. Will you still be in Monaco next season?

My desire is to stay here of course, I have been asked the question a lot this season. It is also a question of principle about the agreement I can have with Dmitry Rybolovlev, about how we should work together, what we want for the club and how we want it to be seen. We are moving in a very modern direction, with great innovations, process, people and a rich culture. I think the club deserves all of this. I am very happy here. We’re starting a journey and it’s already very exciting but that’s also why I have more gray on my beard. I would like to continue this journey with AS Monaco as I have always said since we had this agreement, it has been two years now. If we stick to this way of working on both sides, then the team and I grow with the club.

Have you been disturbed by what has been said in the press this season and have you been relieved to have the support of your president?

I always felt support to be honest. I think that I had very open discussions with the people who met me during this period, including the President. When I started two years ago, we were told that we would work transparently and keep a line of communication as best we could. So I was not surprised at the support given even when things were going a little less well. Our shareholder understood the way we did not want to work, the time needed to deliver and build our infrastructure and the platforms we have put in place.

The objective for next season is to avoid this third place and qualify directly for the Champions League?

The objective is still to be competitive at the top of Ligue 1 and it is becoming more and more difficult. Over the past two seasons, I have noticed how competitive Ligue 1 has become even though I already knew that. The proof, I always tried to recruit some of its best players before arriving in Monaco, like Mukiele or Nkunku for example. Transfer values ​​are increasing, the competition is getting fiercer and fiercer, it is more and more difficult to reach the last rounds of the national cup. Besides, it’s something that has perhaps been a little neglected, the fact that we reached the final last year and that we were eliminated on penalties in the semi-finals this season. It’s also difficult to reach the round of 16 in a competition like the Europa League, but Monaco needs that. The club needs to play big matches, tough matches and always have the ambition to be present in these meetings. We can be enthusiastic about the idea of ​​bringing the club back to this type of match, to great evenings at the Stade Louis-II or the cup finals.