© Reuters 2002

BAMAKO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Zambian coach Raoul Poulsen will be returning to Lusaka from the African Nations Cup with his team on Sunday but says he is unsure whether he will stay on in charge of the national side.

The Danish coach was reluctant to discuss his future role with Zambia after the team's elimination from the African competition in Mali on Thursday.

"I will go back with the side and I have a month left with Zambia, maybe do some evaluations, but I'd rather not discuss it now," he said on Friday.

Poulsen, who was coach when Zambia finished third in the Nations Cup finals in 1996, was hired in December as a replacement for the Dutchman Jan Brouwer, who had been banned for a year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Zambian officials had delayed naming a replacement after Brouwer's suspension in September, before eventually asking Poulsen to assist them and leaving him with just one month to prepare the side for the Mali finals.

Zambia impressed in their first two matches at the tournament, holding World Cup finalists Tunisia to a goalless draw in Bamako and then losing to a last-minute goal against Senegal.

But, on Thursday, defeat by Egypt left them bottom of group D and out of the tournament.

Poulsen has been working for the last two years at the youth academy of Danish club FC Copenhagen, which is based in the South African coastal city of Port Elizabeth.