LYON, France (AFP) - Alain Perrin's days as Lyon coach look numbered after club president Jean-Michel Aulas admitted on Monday that the trend was not to keep him as coach for next season.

Perrin led Lyon to their seventh consecutive league title and the French Cup this season for their first ever domestic double.

But asked whether Perrin would be Lyon coach next season, Aulas said: "We're in a phase of delicate change and the trend is not really in that sense."

Lyon bosses have said they are looking for a coach with an enlarged mission aimed at helping the team progess in the Champions League. The multiple French champions have never made the semis in Europe's elite competition.

Perrin, whose contract runs till 2009, conceded that things had not been all sweetness and light within the coaching staff.

"Things have not gone as well within the coaching staff. I was pretty much dismissed when I arrived by the coaching staff already at the club," said Perrin, who has also coached among other clubs Sochaux, Troyes, Portsmouth and Marseille.

"They felt that having been there during several of the title winning seasons prior to my arrival it bestowed on them a certain legitimacy.

"I had to make do with that. Everyone made concessions and extra efforts as we wanted to win a seventh successive title. What is certain is that a Laurent Blanc or a Didier Deschamps would have a different statute than mine and would not be treated in the same manner."