While Stade Malherbe got stuck at the bottom of the standings in Ligue 2the French Cup and its 32nd finals close a calendar year 2024 with two faces for Caenwho completely missed the start of the season even though the hopes placed in this club were high. Far from the rise and threatened with relegation, the Normandy team will face a team of Guingamp more homogeneous and successful in 2024-2025 this Sunday at 5:40 p.m. in a direct elimination match. The opportunity for men to Nicolas Seube to catch up and restart the machine before a short international break which will, whatever happens, be uncomfortable to live through.
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But Quentin Lecoeuche and Daylam Meddah, in addition to Lamine Sy and Valentin Henry, are missing and leave doubt hanging over the people lined up at full-back positions: “In one of the two positions, there will not be a training full-backconfirms the Caen coach. A move to 3? It could be an idea, but we still need to find players capable of playing the piston position. It's a lot of offensive and defensive work, I'm not sure I have that in the squad. Milliner was tested during the match at Dunkirk, I found him consistent, even if it is not his preferred position. To start him in this position would be to face a very complex handicap. The driving forces of the moment are less important than in the past, but we must still have a guideline in behavior and attitudes. In being a team that wants to get by. »
Restart the cutting machine
“Of course, the Coupe de France does not give championship points, but it is prestigious and extraordinary to experience and do. Given what we did on Monday in Dunkirk, we owe it to ourselves to have revenge, regardless of the competition in which we play. That's especially what matters to me, as well as giving a good image of our club. […]. That’s when we see the men. When everything is going well, everyone is able to express themselves, it's when it's very difficult that we see everyone's character. I expect my players to be able to show temperament on a football pitch. You can't always hide behind someone else. It’s our job that wants that. It's up to us to find solutions so that what highlights us is more sympathetic. »
A transfer window could be saving in the winter of 2025?
“There are needs, but also a lot of injured people who could be among the players we will need. We will have to be intelligent in this transfer window, the team would not look the same if these injured players were available. The complexity of this season is that everything is piling up: injuries, poor sporting performance… We are faced with something that cannot be controlled. »
Source : footnormand.fr
Photo Anthony Bibard/FEP/Icon Sport
