Cote D’Ivoire coach Michel Dussuyer has resigned from his post at the helm of the West African national team, following the side’s failure to progress from the group stages at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon.

The lack of progression to the knockout stages was particularly disappointing for the Elephants due to the fact that they were defending champions, having won the 2015 Nations Cup.

Morocco defeated the Ivorians 1-0 in Oyem last week Tuesday, with a 64th minute long-range curling effort from Rachid Alioui taking all three points for the North Africans.

The defeat left defending champions Cote D’Ivoire with only two points from the three games, having drawn their matches against Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, putting them third in the group and out of the competition they dominated two years ago.

Ivorian fans called for the coach to be sacked following the catastrophe in Gabon, but before the federation could act on the public sentiment, the tactician himself made the first move.

Dussuyer took the decision to resign from his position in the immediate aftermath of the first round exit, closing a chapter that saw the Frenchman in charge of the Elephants for 18 months.

The Ivorian football federation announced his decision to quit, according to SuperSport, while thanking the coach for his “professionalism, commitment and human quality” during his tenure.

“The appropriate measures will be put in place to find his successor,” the federation statement added.

The AFCON continues this week without the West African giants involved, as the semi-final matches take place on Wednesday and Thursday.

Egypt will play against Burkina Faso on Wednesday, before Cameroon take on Ghana in the second semi-final on Thursday. The winner of those two highly-anticipated battles will meet in the final of the competition on Sunday, February 5.

The winner of the 2017 AFCON will qualify to represent Africa at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia later this year.