Marseille president Vincent Labrune remains hopeful Marcelo Bielsa will remain coach next season despite growing speculation the Argentine will leave the Stade Velodrome.
Bielsa, 59, took over at OM last summer, signing a one-year deal with an option for a second season. Whether he will lead the team into that additional campaign remains in doubt after a patchy run of form, including four successive defeats that have seen the side fall behind in the race for a Champions League qualifying place.
While Bielsa has remained enigmatic on the subject, French media have mooted Andre Villas-Boas, Claudio Ranieri and Quique Sanchez Flores as potential replacements for the former Athletic Bilbao boss.
But speaking to France Football, Labrune, 44, insisted he was optimistic Bielsa, who took OM to the top of the table early in the season with a sizzling eight-game winning streak, will still be in charge for the 2015-16 campaign.
"I still have the hope of seeing Marcelo stay, and I already had it when all the observers said he was leaving," said the OM boss, who claimed the club are not seeking alternatives. "It's flattering for OM, but we're not looking for a coach."
Bielsa recently revealed club owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus had asked him to stay but has repeatedly said he will undertake talks with the club once the outcome of the season is known.
OM may have to settle for the Europa League as with three games left they currently sit fourth, five points behind Monaco in third, which offers the last of those Champions League spots,
Labrune suggested the prospect of featuring in European football's second-tier competition may not be enough to convince Bielsa to stay.
"Given the situation in the league, it's too soon to speculate," he said. "If OM finish third or seventh, that will of course change things for the coach.
"What analysis will he make of the season? What kind of team can we build him next season and with which means? Will he not be overtaken by the temptation of playing in the Champions League elsewhere?"