Fernandez departs Auxerre

Jean Fernandez has stepped down from his role as Auxerre manager after five years at the helm of the Ligue 1 outfit.

The 56-year-old took the club to ninth place in the league last season – a disappointment after finishing third the campaign before.

Fernandez’s contract ran out at the end of the 2010/11 season and he has decided against seeking reappointment.

Fernandez won the award for France’s best coach in 2009/10, and he told French newspaper l’Yonne Republicaine he was sad to be leaving a club where he had many happy memories.

“I made my decision on Wednesday night. I decided to leave and turn the page at AJ Auxerre,” he said.

“This choice was difficult. I was reluctant, because I cannot erase five years of my life like that.”

“Deciding whether to stay or go was a dilemma, but I chose to leave.”

Fernandez has previously managed Marseille, Lille, Metz, and Sochaux. French media has linked him with a possible move to Nancy or a return to Sochaux, where he was in charge from 1999 until 2002.

But Fernandez was non-committal about his future plans.

“I have not decided,” he said. “I give myself two or three days of reflection.”