Coach of Montpellier from June 2021 to October 2022, the Cévenol would have liked to have had more time to rebuild a team which had lost important players.
How do you judge your time in Montpellier with a little hindsight?
It was brief, a little short. We didn't have much time. I think it was a team that was in transition. When we arrive, we lose Hilton, Laborde and Delort. The team performed quite well, but was losing these valuable executives.
We had to rebuild and, when we rebuild, there is always a period of fragility. I would have liked to stay a little longer to rebuild. That was the main idea since I had signed three players. We moved a little closer to the training center with work with young people which had begun.
When I left, we were 11th. I think today they would all be happy to be in this place.
I didn't have much time, but one (Maxime) Estève came out, for example. (Elye) Wahi had already appeared a little, but we allowed him to flourish more. We also brought (Joris) Chotard up to date. We had to work a little with these players. And (Khalil) Fayad started to show up, (Enzo) Tchato started to play with us.
The general balance was there but we had to find the right frameworks.
We see it here in Saint-Etienne, we lack executives. When there isn't one, it takes a little longer to work. That's a bit of the regret I have at the MHSC, they didn't give me a lot of time, even though we weren't in danger either. When I left, we were 11th. I think today they would all be happy to be in this place.
We have the impression that you encountered the same difficulties as the following coaches?
Of course. You can change coaches twelve times… The difficulties were there. There is a transition that had to take place. Afterwards, there were some errors in recruitment. You must not make a mistake. If you take senior players, they must be present. Otherwise, it quickly becomes shaky. It's a shame. Before stabilizing, there are periods of unrest. We were still under construction, we still had to play on that. Unfortunately, there was a certain pressure that came from the outside, from the public, from the media, from social networks. It happened at the wrong time. It was not appropriate.
Then the club still had the idea of playing in Europe when it would have had to agree to play a little lower down. When we are rebuilding, we have to be able to communicate to everyone that we are building something different and that it will take time.
What type of match are you expecting on Saturday?
Montpellier had a very good result against Brest. We feel that there is a little renewal. I think they will arrive by trying to be solid first. We too need to be solid and confirm. We still remain fragile. The advantage is that we are going to play at home, that the stadium will be full. There is a real energy coming down from the stands, which carries us. It helps us a lot. We are counting on this audience, which is extraordinary. At home, we are more comfortable than outside. Perhaps for lack of that energy. We never expect any easy match this season.
