Four days after its gala match in Barcelona, undoubtedly the most prestigious match in its history, Stade Brestois returns to Ligue 1 and its daily routine by hosting Strasbourg this Saturday. The most important match of the week? “All matches count, all points count. But it’s true that Strasbourg is a big match for us,” says Éric Roy.
“We are not far from dangerous places…”
From an accounting point of view, and taking into account the objective of maintaining Brestois, it is obvious. Especially since their defeat in Monaco last Friday (3-2), the third in a row in the league, made the slope on which they find themselves a little more slippery.
“It’s up to us to give everything we have in the upcoming match. What is certain is that we will have to be able to respond (to the proposed fight). The question is whether the players have the mental and physical resources to do it…”
Currently in 12th place, just behind their opponent of the day (on goal difference), the Finisterians are only… three points ahead of Angers, 17th and penultimate in the general ranking. And while, ahead, a first break is taking place. “The championship is very close,” notes the SB29 coach. We realize that everyone can beat everyone, practically, at the moment. Which means that we are not completely out of control but at the same time, we are not far from dangerous places…”
If they do not have to be ashamed of their performance in Barcelona, quite the contrary (history will record that Brest experienced the very first defeat in its history in the Champions League there, which does not lack allure), the Finisterians will therefore quickly have to get their heads right in the championship, against an Alsatian team which, too, remains on three losses in a row. To do this, they will necessarily have to treat their current ailments, and more specifically these bad starts to matches which caused so much harm against Nice, Montpellier and Monaco. Especially since the people of Strasbourg are “getting off to a very good start overall, with a lot of intensity”, as Éric Roy notes.
At Stade Brestois, “the days go by and get darker…”
With what remedies? “We talk about it, we try to raise awareness, to activate levers. We did what we could against this very big Barcelona team, it's now up to us to give everything we have in the upcoming match. What is certain is that we will have to be able to respond (to the proposed fight). The question is whether players have the mental and physical resources to do so. We can always have this question in relation to the sequence of matches…”, analyzes the Brest coach again.
But as with the defection of Pierre Lees-Melou (for a minimum of four weeks, read elsewhere) were added those of Jonas Martin and Soumaïla Coulibaly, “the days go by and get darker” for Stade Brestois. A telling sign of this accumulation of clouds, Éric Roy still did not have “(his) team in the lead” this Friday. “And it’s rare. In general, I often already have it the day before, sometimes even two days before.” There are signs that are unmistakable.
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