“The tank was empty”, Franck Haise considered interrupting his career last year in Lens

In an interview with L'Equipe, Franck Haise explains that he went through a difficult period last winter when he held the positions of coach and general manager at RC Lens. The current Nice coach even thought about putting his career on hold, before only continuing his work on the Sang et Or bench.

The workload had become too cumbersome. To the point of considering stopping everything. In an interview with L'Equipe, Franck Haise reveals that he went through a difficult period last year, when he held the positions of coach and general manager at RC Lens. A double hat which has worn out the former boss of Sang et Or, in proportions that he had not imagined. Between managing the transfer window, the sequence of matches, current affairs, management committees and media obligations, the native of Seine-Maritime found himself with his head underwater.

“You combine all that and you never cut psychologically,” rewinds the current Nice coach. “You have more and more complicated nights, you feel that you have not recovered well and that, when you get up in the morning, the energy you have is not what you usually have (… ) The tank was half empty. I tried to intervene where I thought it would be useful, but I didn't go on all fronts.

“I knew I had to make a decision.”

While resting, Franck Haise explains that he was “more annoying” and more irritable in his private sphere. He spoke about it in particular with the mental trainer of RC Lens. “I took a lot fewer walks, a lot less reconnection with nature, I even skipped yoga, even though it did me good,” recalls the 53-year-old technician, who was working at the time on the a book (since put on standby). “Between December and the beginning of January, I knew I had to make a decision. Because I arrived on vacation really tired.”

A serious quadriceps injury during a harmless fall while hiking, then his excessive reaction after his exclusion against Monaco in the Coupe de France convinced him to scale back. Haise then chose to give up his job as general manager, started in October 2022, to devote himself solely to his coaching activities. A visibly saving choice: “It saved me 20% of time and mental load. It was a direct boost in energy. I said to myself, I made the right choice.”