Sébastien Pocognoli discusses the situation of Union, 10th: “The club is in a moment where we must not panic, but in a moment of cohesion”

Points vs. Content

History of starting a rise in the rankings. The Union is not playing badly but is hampered by concerns about offensive realism which weigh it down. Even if we know in the management offices that we will not be able to reach the podium every year, the vice-champion is aiming higher than the current tenth place. But in a club where we pay more attention to the manner than to the raw results, the atmosphere is not tense, unlike what we could experience in other clubs at the top of the table which would be in the same situation.

“There are positive elements there. We saw a clearly defined style of play, clean sheets, which, for the staff, is already a great thing (Editor’s note: as well as high figures for expected goals – Expected Goals – and expected points). All these elements mean that we are not in a moment where we react irrationally, where we make decisions driven by emotion, but rather in a moment of cohesion where we want to get through this together: players, staff and management. After three great years where everything went well, the club is going through a collective challenge“, continues the man who was U23 coach a little over two years ago. “It’s time to see that not every start of a season can be perfect… which doesn’t mean the ending can’t be happy. You have to bring a little more and I, as a coach, bring a lot of positive energy; that’s why the players don’t give up as we saw in Eupen. But, in my opinion, we must not give in to panic decisions, because there are many good things.“

David’s penalty, a symbol

As against Eupen, finally: “If it weren’t for all that, we might say that something is wrong. But the Eupen match was once again a good summary of what we are experiencing. Even if the content was beautiful, we had difficulty in the first period to make it happen; we were not realistic. At half-time, we could have gotten angry and put pressure on and I decided to encourage, to be positive; This is my role as coach. The penalty that Toby (David) must draw to 0-0 is very important. And if we had been nervous or there had been a lack of control from the staff, the penalty probably would not have gone in. I think the majority of supporters understand this, even if there are a few dissatisfied people and those are often the ones we hear the most. I hope we get what we deserve, especially for the players.” From Saturday, ideally.