Club: Arnaud Pouille and Alban Gréget speak on the Julien Stéphan case
In difficulty at the start of the season, Julien Stéphan is a weakened coach. The management embodied by Alban Gréget and Arnaud Pouille did not avoid the subject this Thursday, but did not say too much about it either.
Stade Rennes, represented by the chairman of its board of directors Alban Gréget, presented its new executive president, Arnaud Pouille, this Thursday. The former Lens player therefore becomes the new spokesperson for the Breton club, and his decision-making power is already at the center of discussions at a time when questions exist about the situation of coach Julien Stéphan.
“Arnaud’s arrival is completely independent of the choice of a coach. Arnaud and Frederic will manage, and ask themselves the questions that all leaders can ask about their coach”Gréget first evacuated when the question was asked. Pouille did not shy away, and developed at length.
“It’s not easy to change systems during the season. I arrived last Friday, I had watched Rennes-Lens and PSG-Lens, and I found it frustrating, but there was something better in the will,” confides the new Rennes president. “There are things that tell me that yes, the group made a lot of effort and it was not rewarded. Now we have to plan for the medium-long term and the meetings that will come. Julien said it last Saturday, he knows that the situation is not easy in terms of results, but I guarantee you that it is working.”
“Share, work together, all in the same direction”
Earlier in the presentation conference, Pouille had been questioned about his relationship with Stéphan, and had given some initial information. “I spent a lot of time with Julien. I knew his expertise, recognized locally. I wanted to sit with him, he too in fact. I think he needed to share a lot of things. As I also did with Frederic (Massara)”explains the manager.
“Julien is someone who is also not satisfied with the current results of Stade Rennes, who is constantly looking for a solution. He tries to get the best out of his squad. We must share, work together, all in the same direction, and organize the conditions for better performance and better results. A priori. Because sometimes, you can perform well like in the 2nd half against Monaco, and not get results if you didn’t manage to make it happen. »
“The decision does not scare me”
But when talking about his personality, Arnaud Pouille also reminded us not to “show off.” I try to make the right decision, at the right time. I’ve had some complicated ones before. Changing coaches a few days before the end of the championship because you think that you are not in the right dynamic to move up even though you are 2nd or 3rd in a championship… The decision does not scare me. But banging your fist on the table, you have to do it if the message doesn’t get through, but I’m more into collaboration. We need to spend time together to validate the right decisions. But if you feel betrayed, it’s not the same.”
On February 25, 2020, RC Lens chaired by Pouille replaced coach Philippe Montanier with Franck Haise, then reserve coach.
