At a press conference this Thursday, Pierre Sage sent a message to his group. The Olympique Lyonnais coach said he was ready to listen to his players unhappy with their situation.
Contrary to what one might have feared, Olympique Lyonnais does not seem to be in a hurry to sell its best players. The club, under threat from the DNCG, must sell. But for the moment, leaders are working hard to push the undesirables out. The objective is not to transfer just anyone at the slightest opportunity. A more comfortable context than last summer, when Pierre Sage managed a more or less concerned group.
« I don’t have the same feeling at all, the atmosphere is not the samecompared the Gones coach. The climate is rather positive. The players are focused on our deadlines, they all want to do well. I see the joy they exude during training, the level of dynamism and efficiency that emerges from our sessions. As much as last week we started our week very well and ended it poorly, for the moment we are managing to have a fairly high level of training. That doesn’t give any guarantees but it’s a better scenario than last week which led to a bad match (1-0 victory against Montpellier). »
Pierre Sage listens
« If players have their minds elsewhere? No way. I don’t see players on the field training to play elsewhere. As much as in August these kinds of signals appeared, I don’t have that feeling at allrepeated Pierre Sage, before sending a message to the less used elements. If players wish to speak to me about their situation, I am available. My role remains above all focused on the game, the pitch and their behavior. Concerning their career, there are people at the club better placed than me to advise them. » In addition to the coach’s office, the exit door is also open for the disgruntled.