GOAL - James Westwood

Andre Villas-Boas has sensationally offered to resign as Marseille boss due to the club's decision to sign Olivier Ntcham against his wishes.

Marseille snapped Ntcham up from Celtic on the final day of the January transfer window, with the defender arriving at Stade Velodrome on a six-month loan deal.

The French outfit will reportedly have the option to buy the 24-year-old outright for £4.5 million at the end of the season, and he could be in line to make his debut in a Ligue 1 fixture away at Lens on Wednesday.

However, Ntcham's arrival has not gone down well with Villas-Boas at all, with the Portuguese now seeking to cut his time with OM short after being undermined by the board.

Villas-Boas claims to have made it clear that he did not want to sign Ntcham, and has expressed his desire to leave the club ahead of their latest domestic outing.

"It's a decision that was not made by me. This is a player I said no to," the 43-year-old told a press conference.

"I was not aware of it, I learned of the signing when I woke up and went on the number one Marseille website. I submitted my resignation saying that I didn't agree with the sports policy.

"The board has not yet given me feedback. I do not want money, I just want to leave. This club has already experienced two or three years of randomness in terms of its transfers and I cannot accept that."

Villas-Boas' announcement comes on the back of a turbulent week for Marseille which saw a number of supporters arrested for assaulting officers and throwing smoke bombs at their training centre.

OM fans went too far with the protests against the running of the club on and off the pitch, having seen their team suffer three Ligue 1 defeats on the bounce.

Villas-Boas insists that the incident played no part in his choice to resign, though, and has pledged to continue giving his all to Marseille's cause until he is officially relieved of his duties.

"Now I am focused on Lens. For me, they are the team of the year. We are not going to be able to prepare in the best conditions," he added.

"And I will continue until such time that the board asks me to leave. This has nothing to do with the incidents that occurred on the weekend.

"It is related to the sporting side. Even the departure of Nemanja (Radonjic), I was informed in the evening… I am waiting for a response from the board, and if it is a no, we will continue.

"I don’t want the club’s money, nor Frank’s (McCourt) money. I simply want to leave. I want to be clear with you."