I can still be a successful coach - Henry targets return to management

Thierry Henry is confident he can become a managerial success, despite being sacked three months into his first job as head coach of Monaco.

The 42-year-old was suspended and then dismissed by the Ligue 1 side in January after a run of four wins in 20 matches.

He had previously worked as assistant to Roberto Martinez with the Belgium national team before making the transition into management.

Seven months on from leaving Stade Louis II, former Arsenal striker Henry has targeted a return to the sport and revealed he has already received a number of offers.

"Call me crazy if you want, but I love football and I still believe I can be a successful coach," he told The Telegraph. 

"I'm not thinking about the pain, I'm not thinking about failure. I don't like easy. I like to lead and it's on me to make it happen. The same when I joined Arsenal as a player, the same when I went to Belgium with Roberto. It's an evolution. 

"My phone didn't ring for four months after I left Monaco and then all of a sudden I got five calls. Some were not what I was looking for and some were as a number two - very interesting offers, but I can't leave my staff behind. 

"I've got guys who stopped working for me and what do I say to them? 'Hey guys, you stopped working for me but now I've got a job'. I won't do a number two job because I want to be a number one."

Keeping a close watch on proceedings: Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.

Henry does not regret taking on the Monaco job and is grateful to have been given a chance at the club where he started his player career, but admitted he will think carefully before accepting his next position.

"There is something I always say," he said. "You win or you learn and, as you can imagine, I learned a lot. 

"I still have Monaco in my heart, it's the club that gave me my first opportunity as a player and gave me my first opportunity as a coach, so I will always be thankful to the people who gave me that, people who are there, some are gone.

"My heart talked at the time. I wanted to go back to where I started everything. I have zero regrets about what happened. It was a very difficult task and I felt that if I'd had more time I could have done more.

"If I knew I only had three months, then maybe I would have acted a different way, but I was trying to plan something for the future and doing that in such a little amount of time is very difficult."

Henry failed to inspire a turnaround during his short time at Monaco, leaving the club a point and a place above the bottom of the Ligue 1 table.

Leonardo Jardim, the man Henry replaced, was appointed as the Frenchman's successor and kept them in the top flight.

"I'm proud of what we did achieve with such a young team," Henry said. "We had to win in Caen and Amiens, and those six points were very important. I had no doubt that team was going to stay up because there was enough quality.

"I am not complaining and I can only say thank you to everybody, but to build a legacy and build something for the future, it takes time."