"The door is closed for Biereth": Thiago Scuro takes stock of AS Monaco's season and looks ahead to the future

"For me, the first thing is that we achieved the main objective we set for ourselves. We had to be consistent in the league phase of the Champions League. In that sense, the season was good. But there were also lows. I think we still made a lot of mistakes that we must avoid. For me, we could have gone further in the Champions League, for example. The Coupe de France was also a big disappointment. To have the ambition to be regularly in the top three of Ligue 1 and be competitive in Europe, we must do more."

On the progress to be made

"It's every day, I don't think a speech can change that. Recruitment must already be moving in this direction, bringing in players who can pull us in this direction, bringing a different mindset into the locker room. We've already made progress, but it's a daily attitude to have. I understand that it can be complicated at certain times of the season: the schedule, the defeats, the victories... But when you come here to work, it's to be 100% focused. Don't come to make jokes or relax. Football is a dynamic that requires two or three intensive hours a day, I don't think it's that complicated. You work much more hours every day. Me too. My challenge for next season is to ask myself how I can help the organization get through this. That will be my reflection for this summer."

Would Adi Hütter have been threatened if he did not qualify for the Champions League?

"(Surprised). Okay... Some questions bother me, you have to show respect, face reality. So the answer is simple: no! (dry)"

On departures in the next transfer window

" There will be some, it's a natural process, although I would like everyone to stay on board. No sporting director or coach in the world wants to let their best players leave, but they are human. They also have expectations in their lives and selling is part of our club's economic model. So, yes, we expect players to leave. We will strive to have a very low turnover level, like last summer, because we have good results. We are capable of replacing any player, I have no worries about that."

On arrivals

"The discussions involve the president, Carlos (Avina, the technical director), and myself. We've been talking for a few weeks to get a clear vision of the strategy. What are we missing? What do we need to bring? We hope to have a new impact this summer on the transfer window by bringing in tools that will make us stronger. We're already working on other targets after the arrival of Eric Dier. Should we sell before signing players? No, we don't need to. We don't need to buy a lot either. I remember last summer, when our competitors were signing a lot of players. There was a lot of pressure from you. Monaco wasn't active enough, according to you, but that was simply because we needed less. We replaced what we needed. In my opinion, we did a very good job."

On the future of Akliouche

"I've obviously heard about the interest from clubs in him. Maghnes has been one of the team's best players this season, and it's clear he's the next candidate to leave. That also makes us very proud. But Monaco is also a strong club with a reputation. We have expectations for him. There aren't many clubs that can sign him. A departure or seeing him stay for another season, both situations can happen. I've spoken with him a lot, especially over the last month, and he'll have to be very smart in his decisions. He needs to go somewhere where the style of play suits him, where the coach and the club really trust him... He needs to have the same respect he has here at Monaco to become an international for the French national team, which, in my opinion, won't be long. He deserves it."

On a possible departure of Biereth

"The door is closed! There's no reason for him to leave, it wouldn't make sense."

On the guard post

"The goalkeepers' level was clearly one of the problems of the season, and they know it. We talk about it openly internally. They were very important and decisive in certain situations. I'm thinking of the match against Lyon, where Philipp (Köhn) had an extraordinary performance, for example. Last season, in the second half of the season, Radek was one of the best goalkeepers in Europe in terms of performance. I say this because they also have qualities and work hard. They are good people, good players, but they also made mistakes that cannot happen at a club of our level. Yes, finding a goalkeeper is one of our priorities. We will look for one. This could make us stronger."

On a possible extension of Al-Musrati

"We spoke with him after his injury, we exchanged with Besiktas. We are not going to exercise the purchase option. He helped us a lot, he undoubtedly scored one of the most important goals of our season (at Saint-Etienne). But we are clearly looking for a different type of profile. We would like a more dynamic player, capable of playing high up the pitch, in transition, of pressing..."

On the preseason

"We'll resume on June 26th, and the non-international players will return at that time. There will be a first phase with physical tests. Then, the international players will resume on July 2nd, and we can really begin our preparations. We'll have a training camp in Great Britain, at Saint George's Park. Friendly matches are being arranged; as soon as we have confirmation, we'll let you know."