Reja lines up France role

Former Lazio coach Edy Reja said he is considering offers from several Ligue 1 clubs.

The 66-year-old coach parted company with Lazio at the end of last season, having failed to secure a Champions League spot, but is now on the verge of moving to France.

“Let’s see,” Reja told Lazio Style Radio. “There is something there; I have received some offers.”

The veteran coach offered to resign twice during last season’s Serie A campaign but was persuaded to continue by president Claudio Lotito.

Reja then admitted that he was upset by the club’s refusal to spend in the January transfer window but insists that while he did clash with Lotito and sporting director Igli Tare over the failure to strengthen the squad, he holds no ill feeling towards the pair.

“They are both loyal people and I have a good relationship with Lotito,” he said.

“There is regret over having missed out on the Champions League, but the group did very well and has grown a lot. I gave so much and I feel that I did my duty.”

When asked if he had any advice for his successor, Vladimir Petkovic, Reja stated: “He must do his own thing. But I left behind a strong group, made up of players of good quality.”

However, Reja is unsure if the Bosnian coach should pin his hopes on Mauro Zarate, who has returned to Lazio after a loan spell with Inter.

“If he (Zarate) stays, I hope that he returns to being decisive, as he has shown himself to be on more than one occasion in the past,” the former Napoli coach said.

“I love him as a player. I gave Mauro many opportunities during my reign. However, he must change some of his behaviour. I did not like his behaviour in that final year at Lazio.”

Reja arrived at the Stadio Olimpico in the summer of 2010 after a short spell with Hajduk Split.