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He had not spoken since the end of the season and the announcement of FC Lorient’s relegation to Ligue 2. He is Loïc Féry, the president of FCL. This Saturday, the businessman returned to L’Équipe on this season finished in the penultimate place and this play-off place missed in favor of FC Metz. For the sports daily, the Morbihan leader who lives in London agreed to share his feelings and also looked at the next exercise to come under the orders of the new coach, Olivier Pantaloni. The former Ajaccio technician took the place of Régis Le Bris a few days ago. “There is definitely work to be done to agree to start a new cycle, in Ligue 2,” Féry immediately admitted. We remain with a feeling of failure and waste compared to what we had put in place, in particular the means to do better than the year before (10th, in a Championship of 20). We had the eighth budget in Ligue 1 and we spent 60 million euros on player acquisitions over the last three transfer windows. »
The FCL president who “assumes the primary responsibility” indicated to L’Équipe that he did not regret his choice to have closed the door on a departure of Régis Le Bris in the 2023 off-season. This imbroglio, reinforced by the dispute between the coach and Arnaud Tanguy, the general manager, was difficult to manage and came to disrupt the workings of a club that had increased its financial resources. The only regret of the owner: “I would not adapt the organization of the club as I did last summer.”
A new beginning with Pantaloni
Loïc Féry indicated that his club had returned to a more “classic” organization with “a general director, Arnaud Tanguy, who manages the club on a daily basis, including the sporting aspects, and a sports management with experienced people, including Laurent Koscielny . » With Olivier Pantaloni at the helm, the successor of Régis Le Bris. “The decision to change coaches took a few weeks,” said the businessman. Some interpreted the return of Arnaud Tanguy as not being compatible with the maintenance of Régis Le Bris, even though that did not bode well. I took stock with Régis and he felt like restarting the project, in Ligue 2. But we wanted to open a new cycle. With, a priori, a very high stability of the workforce, we will need a different discourse. »
After ten years of coaching the ACA, Olivier Pantaloni chose the Lorient project and according to the president of the FCL, his experience at the second level spoke for him. “What weighed was his great experience in Ligue 2, the results, with two climbs and two podiums since 2011. In the short-list, there were only very interesting people. Jocelyn Gourvennec is someone we greatly appreciate, but the choice was made based on Olivier’s greater experience of the division (458 matches managed in Ligue 2). » With a budget of “between 45 and 55 million”, Lorient should not change much in terms of its workforce, even if, according to the president, some players have a way out, such as Mvogo or Talbi. With a clear objective: the climb. “In relation to the workforce and the budget, the objective is to return to Ligue 1 as soon as possible,” insisted the businessman. Not within two years. Laurent Abergel wants to return to Ligue 1 immediately, Olivier Pantaloni wants to return to Ligue 1 immediately, Loïc Féry wants to return to Ligue 1 immediately. »
