PSG will not rest on their laurels

Laurent Blanc says while he and the Paris Saint Germain players will treasure their third successive Ligue 1 title the goal is to build on the success and there remains room for improvement.

The 49-year-old coach -- who could yet land an historic domestic treble as PSG take on Ligue 2 Auxerre in the French Cup final -- admitted this title had been won in adversity.

PSG, who landed the League Cup earlier in the season beating Bastia, had to battle hard to win the title this time round with first Marseille and then ultimately Lyon giving them a tough fight, but a 2-1 away win on Saturday over Montpellier saw them retain the trophy with a game to spare.

Blanc, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti as coach after the Italian left for Real Madrid following the first title win in 2013, said he could not say if PSG were set to dominate domestic football like the Lyon side did at the beginning of the century.   
"I cannot tell you if that will come to pass," said Blanc, whose major disappointment was the tame way PSG lost to Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals having shown great character to beat Chelsea in the previous round.

"However, Paris do not want to stop now, we want to continue to make progress, to get better, whether it be the players, the (coaching) staff, the board of directors.

"I hope that will happen. First, though, we will savour the title, the season is not over, there is still the Cup final against Auxerre.

"We will do an overall analysis after that match.

"We will try to do better next season, see where we can make improvements and to go further next year."

Blanc, who also won the title with Bordeaux before a two year spell post the disastrous 2010 World Cup finals as French national coach which ended after they exited in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals, said the title was reward for an all round team effort.

"A title always tastes good, but the manner in which one wins it can bring an extra satisfaction.

"We were up against it in the first part of the season for various reasons.

"We pulled ourselves together and I maintained above all my faith in the players and that was a good call because they repaid this confidence.

"Thank you also to my staff, they did a great job, they are rarely in the limelight but they work hard and I did well to choose them because without their daily input we would not have won the title."

Blanc, who had a swipe at the media for their negative comments especially in the first part of the campaign, said like the players he was always learning new things.
"Yes, I am learning all the time," said Blanc.

"It is not a case of age, older coaches also learn.

"We are confronted with different situations. At the highest level it is imperative to analyse these situations in order to do better.

"This year has provided us with the opportunity to reflect on the small step we have to take which will see us go further in Europe."

Blanc, a member of the team that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 titles although he was suspended for the final of the former, said he expected to still be in charge next season.   

"I am speaking of how it is with the directors," he said.

"I am talking about next season, because I have a contract that runs through to the end of it.

"If you are not convinced that I will be there next season, I have nothing to add, it is your opinion."
Source: AFP