With seven points in seven matches, the Rouge et Noir are on the same trajectory as last season where, after only 12 points gleaned in 12 daysBruno Genesio had thrown in the towel, replaced by Stéphan. Despite 34 points taken over the 22 remaining days, Rennes, 10th, had been deprived of Europe for the first time in six years, fueling the feeling that the beautiful Breton climb was seized up.
The sudden replacement of Olivier Cloarec by Arnaud Pouille as executive president, at the beginning of October, shows that the owners are still looking for how to get the machine going again and the attention is now inevitably focused on the coach.
“I know my job, I know the rules (…) but we remain focused with the staff, with the players, on the work, the development, on the competition and the desire to progress and improve for a group which continues to discover itself”, Stéphan brushed off at a press conference on Thursday, while accepting a generally disappointing observation for the moment.
“Where we belong”
After 38 matches since his return to the head of the team, his record is mixed to say the least with 13 victories or qualifications in his first 19 matches on the bench (2 draws, 4 defeats), compared to only 5 (3 draws, 11 defeats) since. “We are where, certainly, we should be in relation to what we have done, quite simply“, he admitted, “so we have to analyze them, these reasons, and then continue to develop.”
The summer upheaval in the squadthe frequent truces where the club is plundered of its internationals, as well as a sudden change in tactical organization have caused Rennes to fall behind.
Especially since the Breton club has had a rather tough schedule so far with Monaco, Paris SG, Reims, Lens, Strasbourg and Lyonor 6 of the first 8 in the ranking. However, the statistics paint a picture full of paradoxes at the start of the season.
Rennes is one of the four teams who scored on each day and top 5 of those who touch the ball the most in the opposing area, while being penultimate in the number of big chances created.
Likewise, Rennes is one of the teams which recovers the ball the highest in the five major European championships, “on the other hand, (if) the teams rarely enter our last 30 meters, they create situations to score,” lamented Stéphan.
“No reference match” away
The technician nevertheless wants to believe that a trigger is very close. “A streak of two positive consecutive games could really spark something (…) important, especially in terms of confidence,” he said on Thursday.
“When we are in a more difficult period, I think that this is the central element that we have to fight against, because when the players no longer have confidence or there is no more belief, then there , it becomes very, very complicated,” he added. The sequence which comes with matches against Le Havre (15th), Auxerre (14th) and Toulouse (16th) during the following four days should allow us to take points so as not to lose.
But before that, we will have to go to Brest – 11th, just ahead of Rennes -, with a chaotic course in the league (3 wins, 4 losses), and a few days before a third Champions League match where the Brestois have been flawless so far.
“I can’t tell you that tomorrow’s match is decisive in meeting the objective at the end of the season (but) it will be a very good match to evaluate ourselves, to see in this context how we are able to respond. Because for the moment, away from home, we don’t have a benchmark match,” Stéphan underlined.
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