‘The risk is always there’ – Monaco CEO evokes decision to hire Sébastien Pocognoli | OneFootball

AS Monaco sacked Adi Hutter last week, bringing in Sébastien Pocognoli as his replacement. The Belgian arrives from Union Saint-Gilloise, having, at the age of just 38, already led the club to the Belgian title and into the UEFA Champions League.

Speaking at a press conference attended by Get French Football News, Monaco’s CEO, Thiago Scuro, addressed the risk-taking involved in taking such a decision, with the club currently fifth in Ligue 1, just three points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, and having taken one point from their opening two UEFA Champions League encounters.

Hutter sacking: a pre-emptive strike?

“The risk is always there. Doing something or not doing something, there is always a risk,” began Scuro. “This is part of football. What we are doing is trying to anticipate things that we realise could maybe not be in a good place soon. At this stage, we have our season and our goals under control,” he added. It makes Hutter’s sacking look somewhat pre-emptive.

Pocognoli’s “alignment” with the project at Monaco, Scuro believes, can alleviate any risk associated with the change of manager mid-season.

“I think that the process and the alignment of ideas on playing principles, the hunger to work on player development, which Sébastien has shown, and all of the staff that we have around the coach and the players, is all the security that we have to reduce the risk. Of course, there is risk, but we are ready to manage the risk and build another good season,” concluded Scuro.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Monaco