The GM failed his coach, so he fired him.

And they say there’s no accountability anymore.

Failing to deal underachieving Devils to deliver the necessary shape-up message to the two-time Stanley Cup finalists, GM Lou Lamoriello yesterday not only undercut Larry Robinson but also incoming coach Kevin Constantine. The malcontents and coach-killers won this battle, and the new tough-guy coach will have his hands full regaining control.

When Lamoriello fired Robinson and assistants Slava Fetisov and Jay Leach yesterday, it was a clear sign of a GM who has mislaid his grip on the team. Out went Robinson, with his 73-49-18 record, one Cup and another seven-game final in less than two seasons with New Jersey, and in came Constantine, with his 141-142-59-4 record, a man whose main credentials are first-round playoff victories with the Sharks over the 1994 Red Wings and with the Penguins over Robbie Ftorek’s Devils in 1999. Oh, and his reputation as a whip-cracker.

The Devils who stopped heeding Robinson can breathe more easily for a few weeks, since Constantine will want a chance to evaluate them himself, starting with his debut tonight at Nassau Coliseum. And Lamoriello will want to see the fruits of this easy way out.

“I take responsibility in the same way everyone else does. I take responsibility. I don’t shift it in any way,” Lamoriello said. “In this day and age in the NHL, it’s more difficult to make trades than it ever has been. Sometimes you see trades you would make, but you can’t because of fiscal constraints.”

The undercurrent from the GM was that he believes the Devils need some serious spanking, and that may not be wrong, but the acquisitions of Andrei Zyuzin and Valeri Kamensky were his biggest contributions this season, and they haven’t been enough to make up for the loss of Alex Mogilny, the likely departure of Bobby Holik and the aging of his defense.

“Sometimes players don’t differentiate between the words ‘kindness’ and ‘weakness’,” Lamoriello said.

“It is the fault of the players,” Lamoriello insisted. “Unfortunately, in this business, if you make a couple of moves and you don’t think those moves changed the play on the ice, you have to change the environment and see who responds.”

Robinson would not rip the players or Lamoriello, but he did defend himself.

“Everybody says I’m too soft to be a coach. Well, if I have to change the person I am to coach a club, maybe that’s not what I want to do. I’m not going to change the way I am,” Robinson said. “It bothers me . . . it’s too bad that you have to be an SOB to get your point across, and I don’t believe that. I think I was firm and I know I was fair.

“I’m proud of what we did here. Going to the finals two years in a row is something I’m very proud of. You get there twice and then in the third year I can’t coach? I don’t believe that’s true.”

Now, for the first time since Herb Brooks coached the Devils in 1992-93, their coach never played in the NHL. It probably won’t be long before that point is raised by a Devil.

“I think this team needs a certain type of coach, a coach of Kevin’s personality, structure and discipline and accountability,” Lamoriello said. “I want a coach that can take what we have here. I still believe the ingredients in that room can keep the bar where we’ve set it.”

ROBINSON’S RECORD

Larry Robinson Coaching Record with Devils

Regular Season

YearWL T

1999-2000440

2000-2001482212

2001-200221237

Playoffs

*1999-2000167

2000-20011510

*Won Stanley Cup