EXCLUSIVE | Mark Hateley on Monaco: “Filipe Luís has knocked it out of the park”

Former AS Monaco striker Mark Hateley sat down with Get French Football News to discuss his old team and their start to a campaign which sees them top of the table after five games.

What have you made of Monaco’s start to the season?

An amazing start. Especially without their talisman Folarin Balogun. He was sensational last season. Bright start [for Monaco] – tough start, as well. Winning away on the road, first game, then coming home and beating Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain, and drawing with Strasbourg. And building and building, and also bringing Balogun back into the side. 

It’s been a weird start for a lot of the clubs, especially PSG. You got Paris FC just sitting there [on their doorstep]. They’ve been taken over very recently by the Arnault family. A friend of mine was coaching there 18 months ago as the takeover was happening, and he said the appetite for football is incredible at that place. Let’s hope that the people that have taken over have the same appetite as their support. It would be great to have two great teams in Paris. 

Do you think a bit of a derby will be building between them?

I think that’s what French football needs. It’s got the old Nice-Marseille, Marseille-Monaco, those sort of head-to-head games. But Paris, for a long, long time, has needed another team, especially with it being the capital. I know you’ve got all the suburb teams about an hour away from Paris, but having another team in the capital is good for French football. 

You’ve mentioned Balogun already, but what are your thoughts on Paris Brunner?

I think he’s been exceptional. Goal scoring. Taking on the mantle. One door shuts, and another one opens in football. We’ve had it here at Rangers with Lawrence Shankland. With him being out of the side, and then Kevin Kelsy coming in and doing well. Similar sort of picking up the pace of the team. And that can only be a good thing for all teams: competition for places, especially down at Monaco, has been lacking for a while now; they’re trying to build a squad – and you can keep that squad together, instead of moving on a lot of players at the end of every season and rebuilding the side again. 

It’s the clubs that are normally on the fringes. They’re the sort of clubs that do that. And I don’t think Monaco is one of them. Monaco should be a constant challenger in the French league. And constantly challenging for qualification to the] Champions League. I think more has to be done on that front, building a team and keeping them together for a period of four to five years, to achieve what I rightly think they should be achieving. 

Do you think it’s sustainable? Could they win the league?

Could they win the league? That’s a good question. They’ve started well. It’s keeping players fit. Filipe Luís will be looking through the international break at the number of games his players will play. And I’m going to say, it’s a crazy amount of games that they’re asking players to play, especially after a World Cup. And it will reflect on teams’ squads when they come back. All managers that have that ambition of winning the title or going deep in a European competition, and obviously domestic cup competitions, it’s down to the squads. We’re building squads now to compete and challenge on every front; you need 35 plus players. And that is really, really difficult for a coach to keep everybody happy, but that’s just the way the game’s going. 

Can Monaco stick in their? A little bit of luck would be required. I know the people behind the scenes have the ambition. But PSG will come good. They’ve had a lot of players who were away at the World Cup. They’ll all be back and flying. I’m going to say it’ll take another three or four games, but then you’ll see the PSG juggernaut. I think Marseille have had a tricky start as well – I see them picking up. I also see Lyon up in there, they’ve had a good start to the season. Can they push on? I fear not. It’s good to see in French football. We’ve needed it for a long time. We need competition. Without competition, you don’t get investment, and that’s the beauty of the Premier League in England. And that’s what I think France needs urgently: competition. 

Considering Monaco’s unique situation. We’ve spoken before about how there’s a ‘passing trade’ at the club. What does it take to be a good manager there?

Arsene Wenger was my manager. I think he was 32-33 when I joined the club. He was very relaxed in his approach. He knew what he wanted. I think that’s the same with every coach, wherever they go to a club that’s expected to achieve. Luís is that guy. He’s a young guy. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s come to the table and set his stall out. He’s knocked it out of the park, so far. It’s early doors. Managing Monaco is a great privilege, but it’s also a very difficult job to do. Especially how the support is with Monaco. Travelling away, you have very little support. And then it’s down to management and backroom staff to build something to keep them motivated and charging on. That’s the secret. 

Lamine Camara missed out on a move to Chelsea on deadline day. Would he have made a difference to Xabi Alonso’s squad? 

I think he would have done. He’s 22 years old – still a young lad. He’s got that wiry build, and he gets across the ground. Those sorts of players will always be on the radar of all the top clubs in the Premier League. Mobility – everything you see nowadays is mobility, energy, strength, power. And Camara has that. Got another year at Monaco. I think it will do him good, and it’ll do Monaco tremendously well. All he’s got to do is go out and play well, win a championship for Monaco, and then he’ll have a pick of his clubs. 

Mark Hateley was speaking exclusively to GFFN on behalf of BetGoodwin.

GFFN | Nick Hartland