Janot feeling resigned

Jeremy Janot is very disappointed by St Etienne's performances in 2007.

Les Verts have slipped up since the turn of the year, winning just twice after returning from the winter break.

Having had aspirations of a UEFA Champions League place earlier in the season, St Etienne now face the prospect of missing out on Europe altogether.

Ivan Hasek's side currently sit in seventh place and Janot accepts improvement is needed, and soon.

"At the beginning of the season, everything was alright, we were lucky and helped by the circumstances," Janot told Le Progres.

"But now, every time a ball is deflected, it goes straight in the back of the net.

"We have to accept it, but people can't blame us for a lack of fight. We run, we reach our limits, and we lose.

"Our results are difficult to accept because we work so much.

"The top is far away now, we are becoming an average team. We are paying for a catastrophic home record.

"We have to look at ourselves in the mirror, something has gone wrong. We can't say that our football warrants us finishing third in the league.

"We play as 11, we lose as 11, we can't blame anybody in particular."