After a promising first regional season, the CTC Nord-Ouest Mayenne (Saint-Denis-de-Gastines, Ernée and Saint-Pierre-des-Landes) leaves for this second season with a competition formula that has changed. End of the two phases, with the maintenance pool and the accession pool. Now it’s time for an annual group round-trip match.
A change that does not worry Olivier Lelièvre, the coach of this team: “The advantage is that we have time to build. The downside is travel. But it’s nice to only play the same team twice. »
“We have good cohesion”
The uncertainty rests on the conditions of maintenance. It will be done by ranking between the two groups, hence the importance of winning as many matches as possible. In this context, the four home defeats since the start of the season could cost Lelièvre’s daughters dearly: “Our objective remains maintenance. At home, we have regrets. We may be putting extra pressure on ourselves. » Fortunately, the team is performing better away from home, which gives the coach some hope: “We went for three victories. »
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Another problem for this very geographically eccentric team: the workforce. North-West Mayenne recorded four departures in the off-season, offset by only two arrivals. Here again Lelièvre wants to be positive: “Playing with 8 allows everyone to play a minimum and stay involved. The problem is the absences even if for the moment we have been spared from injuries. »
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For him, the important thing is not quantity but quality, especially from the point of view of human relations: “The integration of the two new players went rather well. We have good cohesion, the state of mind is quite nice. »
To succeed in maintaining the team at the regional level, he is counting on the strong points of previous seasons: defense and fast play. But it will still be necessary to erase a big gap: “Our irregularity, whether from one match to another or within the same meeting. »
Senegal
