Stade Rennais – Angers / Sampaoli: “Sunday’s match is crucial”
Before the Angers reception, Jorge Sampaoli, who will not be able to officiate on Sunday, presented himself at a press conference.
Suspension : It won't be easy because I won't be at the edge of the field. But I will have another perspective to see the match. It's not ideal, but I promise it's the last time I'll get a red.
Match pressure: In football, the result has an influence on the analyses. We played a competitive match, we were solid defensively, even with 10 men. I consider the defeat unfair. The team has to grow, we want to get results, but this week we insisted on improving the volume of the attack.
Attack : During the first half, at 11 against 11, the presence of Nantes hampered us, it made for a very neutral half, a bit like the first half in Lille. In second, at 10 against 11 I think we were better, and FC Nantes changed their outlook. They started to want to take the initiative in the game, and from there we deserved better.
Workforce diagnosis: For me there has been a structural change in this team, we are looking for it. I think the players are no longer suffering, like in every match, before my arrival. With this structure in place, we hope to be more competitive, we are starting to be. But individually there are no players yet who make big differences, except perhaps against Saint-Etienne which was an atypical match. Against Nantes, Simon made the difference. Against Lille there was also a difference made. We need these individual differences, for these players individually to help us win.
Too much security against Nantes: The state of the team made me make this decision (change against Nantes), it was a Classico, we had mastered it, we had to improve our performance. This is why I took defensive options to secure the result. Unfortunately we conceded this goal after these choices. I think our performance was rather stable during this derby.
Market : It is important for us to consolidate a group in the medium and long term. We will start discussing after Angers and before the cup match, with the sports management. We will discuss the needs, the current state of the workforce. In football, for me, the fitness of the players is extremely important. Quality arrivals would help us, consolidated players, of good level, but the winter market is not easy. Often the best players are not available. Depending on the diagnosis that we will carry out, we will work to consolidate this group.
Truffert axial gauche: Everything will depend on how we finish the analysis. We could play with 4 or 3 behind. If we choose the option at 3, Truffert could be aligned as left axial. He is a player with a good quality of recovery, very clear. With his left-handed profile, he could help us. We could also opt for a 4-man defense. Truffert had a very good match against Nantes. He gave us a lot of volume in the ball exit and was very solid defensively.
Defense relaunch quality defect: We are in this process, we want to have the players' support for our game idea. They were chosen to develop another game idea. Against Nantes, their pressing really hampered us. We struggled to restart. Against Lille we opted for another strategy and it went better. For me against Nantes, the problem is that we went backwards. How do I restart the game? We can progress. With the ball, the team can still develop a lot. But without the ball, I think she has already progressed a lot.
Is the team playing to maintain: We must not escape our reality, that would be lying to ourselves. I want a determined, strong, aggressive team. Today, the situation can generate doubts. Especially since we are playing against teams prepared to play this kind of matches, which is not the case for a team like Rennes. For its history, and its recent history. It can be difficult to accept this reality but it is obvious to me, the players, the public, that Sunday's match is crucial. The important thing is not to get nervous, make mistakes, let anxiety take hold of us. I expect a complicated match because Angers is a team that knows how to play this type of match and is prepared to play in this area of the ranking.
Win against Angers: It's always important to win. We're getting ready for that. We try to improve with each match. On our defeats for me we deserved neither to lose nor to win. Against Nantes we were superior. At the moment we are really insisting on improving our offensive game, because we are creating situations but we are not able to make it happen. It leads to disappointment. I hope that, like Saint-Etienne, our attacking volume will be higher.
Little playing time for Jota: We hope that Jota will bring us this imbalance, but until then he is not in full possession of his means. For the team I need players who make continuous efforts, defensive or offensive. I know Jota well, he is not completely fit yet. Players who know how to make a difference are very important for us. He has this ability. I watch the training sessions every day and I end up making up my mind.
Change of goalkeeper in the winter transfer window: Mandanda performs well. In the 3 matches that I managed, he had no responsibility for these results. Against Nantes he suffered a strike, against Lille he had to play one on one. Against Saint-Etienne, he had almost nothing to do. As for the rest of his career, it also depends on his decision, he is a very professional player, towards whom I have enormous respect, a player who has had a very long career. I don't really wonder about the identity of the guard. If there are responsibilities, positions that need to be thought about, they are other positions.
Players capable of making a difference: We have these players, but they may not be in their optimal form yet. Blas, for example, against Saint-Etienne had a match where he was decisive. I need this high performance to be repeated over time. I also think that players like Gouiri, Gronbaek or Jota are capable of making big differences. But what I ask of them is not only to be decisive when the result goes our way. We analyze all the matches. The role of the coach is overvalued, we depend enormously on these players with great abilities, capable of making the difference. If they had done it since the start of the championship, I would probably not be here, and Stade Rennes would not be in this situation. We need them to be fit. We do everything so that they understand our playing model, that they are in physical shape, that they take up space well, so that they can then make differences like Simon did against us last week. In this match, Nantes did nothing to win but won thanks to this action. While personally I believe that we have a team that was superior to Nantes.
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