When it's time to return to the field and return to competition after six successful months, LOSC and Bruno Genesio will have to get rid of Antoine Kombouaré's Nantes to get off on the right footSaturday (7 p.m.). A reception during which the Mastiffs intend to impose their ideas and continue on their good path.
Bruno, have you felt the same dynamic and the same ambition in the group since the takeover?
“Yes, I found them as we left them, namely dynamic, ambitious, hard at work and always with this spirit of good atmosphere also focused on competition, including in training. There's a lot of bullying in training the winners over the losers. I like it because it's a mix of a good atmosphere, but also proof that our players are competitive, which is important at the high level.
What are your ambitions for the second part of the season?
The ambitions are the same, the objectives have been clear and defined since the start of the season. There are the objectives and the way in which we achieve them. What matters to me today is above all this point: how to put players in the best footballing and mental conditions to achieve these objectives. We only played 15 league matches. What we did is very good, we can always do better. We must continue on what drives us, on the game we want to put in place and what we want to do.
We concentrate 80% on our game, regardless of the opponent and without offending anyone.
FC Nantes has gone to five defenders in recent weeks. How do you approach a match against such a low block?
We don't really know in what system they will evolve. If we rely on the last matches, we tend to say that they will be five behind. But as I often say, we concentrate 80% on our game, regardless of the opponent and without offending anyone. I remain convinced that working on our strengths and areas for improvement remains the most important. We are also used to facing low blocks with grouped teams playing against each other. We expect all the possibilities for tomorrow, I don't know what Antoine (Kombouaré) has prepared for us. He has so much experience that we can expect different things, including a four-man defense. This is why I prefer to concentrate on our strengths, even if we take the adversary into account.
In seven home matches in Ligue 1, LOSC recorded only two clean sheets. Is this an important point you want to improve on?
It's also because I think we accept a certain offensive imbalance that we only kept two clean sheets. I like my team to be strong, it's a guarantee of success. But what matters to me is above all to win matches with ambition in our game and what I want to see from my team. It’s true that, sometimes, it can frustrate us. Against Sturm Graz, we won 2-0 then conceded two goals before winning 3-2. I like to see my team ambitious, conquering, taking risks. And inevitably, this can create imbalances which expose us a little more at home than outside. »
Comments collected by Enzo PAILOT
Photo credits: Sandra Ruhaut/Icon Sport
