PARIS, April 23 (Reuters/Yahoo) - Becoming the first side from a major European league to win six titles in succession would make many clubs happy but not Olympique Lyon.

Coach Gerard Houllier's team, who were handed their sixth crown without playing this weekend and then celebrated it without winning, are in a rather gloomy mood.

The Lyon players were clearly upset after being jeered by their fans in a 0-0 draw at home to Stade Rennes last week.

A 3-2 defeat by Toulouse at Rennes on Saturday finally gave them an unassailable lead but the next day, they could only manage another goalless draw, this time at lowly Auxerre.

"What we have achieved this season is extraordinary," Houllier told reporters on Saturday. "We have made progress and are better and more mature than last season."

The next day, after the draw at Auxerre, Houllier shunned the post-match news conference, apparently because he had been irritated by a question by a television journalist about his plans.

Houllier has said several times he will still coach Lyon next season but that has not stopped French media from speculating he could leave.

Now on 71 points from 33 games and with a safe 18-point lead over second-placed Racing Lens with five matches left, Lyon remain in a league of their own in France.

That, however, has been the case for years. What they really wanted was to make an impact in Europe at last, which they failed to do when they were eliminated by AS Roma in the first knockout round of the Champions League last month.

They then suffered another blow when Girondins Bordeaux wrecked their hopes of a first domestic double by beating them 1-0 in the French League Cup final.

FANTASTIC START

"We will bounce back," Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, who turned the club from a sleepy provincial side into the powerhouse of French football courtesy of his managerial skills, said after that defeat. "This is not the end of a cycle, it is the start of a great adventure," he added.

The Lyon fans hope he is right but some have their doubts.

Their team had a fantastic start to the season but then slowed down and collapsed twice in crunch matches, against AS Roma and then Bordeaux.

A great side to watch last year, Lyon have rarely shone in 2007 and looked nervous again on Sunday, Brazilian defender Cris collecting his 12th yellow card this season in the 74th minute of a scrappy match.

The finest generation to have graced the club are now getting old with such stalwarts as France goalkeeper Gregory Coupet and Brazil's midfield artist Juninho over 30.

Complete Story