Six months after shocking the world with their performances in Japan and South Korea, Senegal's national side is still without a coach.

Negotiations with Frenchman Guy Stephan have broken down.

Senegalese officials confirmed that the 45-year-old coach left Dakar at the weekend after failing to sign his proposed three-year contract to take over as coach of the Lions.

Following a series of meetings, Stephan preferred to defer putting his signature to the contract. Senegalese FA statement

It comes after Stephan and Senegal's FA had said they had agreed terms.

Stephan has been courted since November as the replacement for Bruno Metsu, the flamboyant French coach who took the West African side to the World Cup quarter-finals.

But after a two-week stay in Dakar, he has returned to France without putting pen to paper.

A Senegal Football Federation statement said: "Following his stay and a series of meetings with the authorities, Stephan preferred to defer putting his signature to the contract awaiting further information."

The Frenchman had been in Senegal since 23 December with his family and lawyer and held several meetings with the sport's ministry in Dakar, who would be his formal employers.

The Senegalese did not way whether the negotiations would continue, or whether they would begin a search for another high-profile expatriate coach.

Stephan was one of France's assistant coaches at last year's World Cup finals, the side beaten by Senegal in the opening game of the tournament in Seoul.

He is also a former coach of Bordeaux and Lyon.