“How do you see this shock against Monaco, six points from third you are taking?
Only three points are at stake, but it is a direct competitor that could almost be knocked out in the Champions League race. What is important is to be interested in us, to keep moving forward, we have seen that success in Reims (3-2, last Saturday) accounting was very important, we must continue in this spirit, we will take stock after Saint-Étienne (April 30, matchday 35) to see what to expect.
It would be pretty decisive if you keep this four-point margin after the Monaco-Strasbourg (Wednesday) series, wouldn’t it?
Yes, but after that we get Lorient, such a difficult game, then Saint-Étienne fighting to keep it, that’s why we’ll take stock at the end of the month. We will also, between Saint-Étienne and Nantes (May 11, 36th day) a reduction of twelve days, because the people who make the calendar had the good idea to hold the final of the Coupe de France on a Saturday (May 7) during a championship day (May 8th)†
Wednesday we play (May 11 in Nantes) before receiving Marseille on Saturday (May 14, match day 37), it’s very accommodating, really very well done for justice… One day we will be consulted before we may do inconsistent things. But we’ll see what we’re capable of after Saint-Étienne.
“We have a very attacking team, focused on the game, but from time to time you also have to be able to reform a block”
How do you see Monaco?
They are doing a good series, they were able to recover from a difficult moment. It’s a team that’s been put together to qualify for the Champions League and play it, so it’s going to be a big game like we had here against Paris. (2-0, October 3)Lyon (November 4-1, 7)Lille (1-2, 1 Dec) or Nice (1-2, 12 Dec)†
What do you need to delete?
It is mainly the end of the race in Reims. We were very unbalanced because, I think, we forgot to defend together. We were leading 3-0, I don’t know if there was an easing or something else, but from there we went into recovery in a disorderly way, we gave this team the opportunity to recover in the game.
We have a very attacking team, focused on the game, but from time to time we also need to be able to reform a block and be collectively efficient to get the ball back well and that’s what we missed at the end of the game. It’s a good warning, but we managed to keep these three very important points, an improvement from the start of the season.
How do your players experience the pressure of the final sprint?
We also remain a fairly young team in terms of age and experience, we have to learn to deal with our emotions, but I don’t feel any fear or tension. And that has to be one of our strengths at the end of the season, because today we are largely within the targets set at the start of the season and we need to focus on that. †
