AS Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim extends deal for four more years

Leonardo Jardim joined the French side from Sporting Lisbon last season

Paris, May 13 (IANS) Ligue 1 club AS Monaco has announced that head coach Leonardo Jardim has extended his contract with France's top-flight football club until June 30, 2019.

The 40-year-old Portuguese was appointed to the post last summer on a two-year deal after leaving Sporting Lisbon, reports Xinhua.

"Since arriving in the Principality, the Portuguese coach has demonstrated the quality of his work, his efficiency and his ambition to develop the club's project," read a statement on the club's website on Tuesday.

"By securing Leonardo Jardim's services as coach until 2019, AS Monaco is demonstrating its commitment to stability, focusing on continued progress and achieving its ambitions for the future," it added.

Monaco sit the third in Ligue 1 standings with just two rounds left in the 2014-2015 campaign, trailing 12 points to the leaders and holders Paris Saint-Germain and six points behind second-placed Lyon.

"It is a sign of confidence from the club, the board, to sign this extension. We have worked hard this season to put in place a new project and I am convinced that the best is to come," Jardim told the website.

Monaco became the surprise quarter-finalists of the UEFA Champions League this season by ousting English Premier League side Arsenal but lost 0-1 on aggregate to Juventus in the last eight matchups.