The Montpellier coach appeared resigned at a press conference after the defeat and the performance of his players against Angers (1-3), Sunday January 12.
Did you take a big hit to the head this evening?
Yes, a big blow. I had hope, even though I knew it was difficult. The Lyon match was still good, even if we didn’t bring home any points in content. Today, there was a first half where we were afraid. And that’s serious.
In an important match like this, it is very serious to refuse the game, to not be confident instead of giving everything. There was a bit of a start to the second half where we felt a little rebellion. And then, as all the teams ranked poorly, the red card, the other red card, the last-minute gag goal, it’s the chalice down to the dregs.
How do you manage to explain this excitement of the first half?
Players not confident. It’s hard to explain, the lack of confidence. When we arrived, we played the match against Toulouse, it was a little bit the same. People were rushing us, scaring us and we could see that people were panicking. And there, when you don’t have the confidence in football, it’s very hard. It’s very hard to play well, it’s very hard to score, everything becomes difficult.
What was your speech in the locker room?
To assume. To assume like a man. We have to talk, we have to say that we are disappointed, we have to face reality. The mission was very difficult, today it is mission impossible. There is half a championship left. There are a lot of points at stake, but we lost at Le Havre, we lost at Saint-Étienne and we lost at home against Angers. So it’s going to take a little miracle.
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The notes of MHSC – Angers: only Benjamin Lecomte was up to the task during the defeat against the Angevins
What can you rely on to try to re-engage the players?
On pride. Pride, because it’s not Montpellier, it’s not this state of mind, it’s not La Paillade,e play like that, timidly, with feet curled up. We’re playing the game of survival… We did it a little bit in the second half, we had a little start, but it wasn’t enough.
We saw the supporters disappointed, angry, what is the message you want to send to them?
They suffer, they are disappointed, it’s normal. They suffer, like us. There’s not much to say, I told them before the match, it’s an important match, it’s a crucial match, they did their job. In the first half, they encouraged, but they saw a timid team, they saw a team not confident, they didn’t understand. They are right.
You sometimes feel abandoned by certain senior players, I’m thinking of the captain today, Jordan Ferri who takes a red card, is that reminiscent of Téji Savanier against Toulouse?
It adds more harm to evil. It’s people’s discomfort, it’s normal. When a season attacks like that, I told the players, you played 8 matches with a coach, you took 4 points, we change coach, we played 9 matches, we took 5 points, where are we? we must be. We tried to put some things back but we couldn’t. So I said, we’re missing half a championship, we’re professionals, we’re going to play the matches as best as possible.
Also read:
MHSC-Angers: this record that Téji Savanier equaled by scoring this Sunday
For you, there is no question of giving up, are you still going all out?
If I had thought about it when I was asked, maybe I wouldn’t have come, because I saw that the problem was still quite deep. But when I think about it, if I had been in front of my TV today, I would have said to myself that I chickened out. And with regard to the people who have left, to whom I owe a lot, I prefer to suffer while being with them, than to suffer while being outside.
