Despite being knocked out of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Algeria have decided to maintain Christian Gourcuff as their coach beyond the scope of the tournament.

The Fennec Foxes were defeated 3-1 in the quarter-finals of the Nations Cup at the hands of Cote D’Ivoire, but their run in the tournament was a mixed experience, emerging from the group of death including South Africa, Ghana and Senegal thanks to victories over Bafana and the Teranga Lions, before their loss to a very strong Ivorian side.

The number one ranked team on the continent will be promoting continuity within their national team, by giving Gourcuff more time at the helm, but the coach could not say the same for the players in his squad.

“There will be changes within The Greens,” said Gourcuff, according to BBCSport. “Some players are entering their 30s and are preparing to leave the team. We’ll have to call up other younger players.

“We already have a core of young and good players around which the future national team will be built.

“We’ll only need to reinforce certain areas by other elements for upcoming deadlines, notably the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2018 World Cup.”