Stade Rennais – Brest / Wooh: “We have to free ourselves”
Before Rennes – Brest, Christopher Wooh was the player present at the press conference.
We imagine you happy to find the eleven…
Obviously, we work for, to enjoy playing. It's true that at the moment the pleasure is not at its peak when there is no victory. We try to give our all to regain confidence and victory.
How have you experienced these last few months on the bench?
We know that the change of coach includes a change of players. I had the same thing between Genesio and Julien Stéphan, in a good way. That was the wrong way. But I didn't give up, I continued to work and today I'm happy to be back in eleventh place. I hope to stay in it.
We even announced you were leaving this winter…
These are supposed desires on your part, I never mentioned it. The month of January is quite complex, the transfer period. We stay focused, we control what we can control, work every day to perform well and put doubt in the coach's head.
So you want to stay?
Yes, I want to stay. In any case at the moment I don't want to leave the team in a difficult situation. I want to try to give the maximum that I have, and we will see what the future holds for us.
How is the locker room currently doing?
It’s true that it’s very difficult. We returned yesterday morning from the trip to Troyes. The president spoke to us, and talked about what he talked about to you. We experience it very badly. We don't appreciate defeat, we are competitors, we want to rediscover these moments of victory, of joy. We don't have them. But what's good is that we have a match tomorrow, plus a derby. We will do everything to regain victory.
How did you perceive the president's strong words?
It is certain that with the series of defeats, especially the elimination where we were keen to go as high as possible, the president made choices. It belongs to him. What we can control is the terrain. Tomorrow we will do everything to show a better face.
-How do you cope with seeing some of your teammates sidelined?
Personally I have never experienced it. But I have also never experienced a situation in which we put ourselves. We ourselves are the ones who put ourselves in this situation. There has to be something that clicks. We are a group, of course leaving teammates in the loft is complicated. But we ourselves got into it.
In Troyes, you took very few risks. Is this the instruction, or is it a lack of confidence?
We are trying to find solutions. At times we managed to find passes between the lines for Amine. We were unable to make these trips a reality. I don't think it's fear, but a lack of confidence. We need to free ourselves. In a match we are not going to achieve everything, but if we do not try we will not have a result. The most important thing is to try to get the opportunities.
How could you come to have such a gap between the supposed quality of the players and what we see on the pitch?
That's your perception, I have a different one on the ground. From the TV or the stadium, we can have a perception of what the president said. But I think it's about lack of confidence. We know that confidence in the professional world is the most important thing. We will find it again through victory, a commitment tomorrow, and then I hope that we can find this quality again.
There could be some tension from the public tomorrow…
It's normal. We ourselves are not satisfied with what we do, it's normal that we are not satisfied. We hope tomorrow they will encourage us, we need them. It's about giving the best of us on the pitch. We are halfway through the championship. It's the best time to find a new face. Especially since it's a derby.
In this three-way defense, how do you feel tactically?
We work very, very well tactically. This is the point where we work the most with the new coach. But it's a lack of confidence. It's an angle that we have, that we're not going to try because we're afraid of failing. We have to remove this fear and play our football as we have always done. This is the system in which I like best, with 3. It must start from us, give confidence, and then I think it will do it.
Is your role different, more focused on recovery than Ostigard and Hateboer?
No not at all. I don't have any different instructions from them. I'm not going to reveal the coach's tactics, but everyone has their own profile. Maybe Ostigard has a more defensive profile. Hans was basically a full-back, but is also a very good central defender. I think we need to free ourselves, and this will do it.
