Here are the words of Franck Haise in the post-match press conference, a few moments after the success won by the Gym against Reims on Saturday evening (2-4). Happy with the performance of his men, the Nice technician is already planning for the future.
Coach, what did you think of this victory on the pitch in Reims?
We created a lot of chances in an away match, all different ones, whether from a positional attack, in transition, from a set piece… These are positive things. Even though we conceded two goals, I think that the team always remained calm, especially after the second which could have revived Reims, when we had just had a huge 4-1 opportunity. We stayed in our game to score the fourth, and even the fifth, even if it was denied. We responded both offensively and defensively, most of the time.
Is this your most complete and successful match this season? We have often seen a reactionary Gym, or one that only played one half out of two this season…
Straight away, I tend to tell you that we were consistent during a large part of the meeting.
You have scored 35 goals in 17 matches, which is 16 more than last year at the same time. This is a record for OGC Nice. There is really an offensive identity that emerges from this team…
We can afford to be offensive because we have the players for it. It’s not just the attackers, in the middle we have creative players, behind, there are players capable of playing under pressure. I have full-backs, or pistons depending on the system, who are attracted by the opposing goal and by the game. We have to ensure that everyone finds their place, speaks the same language, whether on the offensive level as defensive. Attacking in numbers is good, but at the same time you have to prevent and defend well. It’s progressing.
Are you in a period where everything is starting to fall into place?
I think so. We’ve been working together for six and a half months. There are things that have continued to move forward. We find players, even if there are still some absent in the offensive positions. We find consistency in the squad. This means that the sessions are of better quality, there is also more choice for me. This is mostly good news.
You are still playing without Terem Moffi and Jeremie Boga…
Morgan Sanson hasn’t played all season either. Pablo Rosario was suspended this evening. These are players that we will find again at some point and who will have a say in our season.
Why did Jonathan Clauss come out during the break?
He had a small joint blockage, which caused a point of tension in his ischio. As it wasn’t clear, we didn’t want to take any risks. He was mobilized at half-time by the physios, it seems that things are much more relaxed now. We will give ourselves 24-48 hours to see. But I don’t think there is a muscular problem, it’s more at the joint level. We will see if he can be with us quickly for Tuesday’s match in Bastia or if we will have to make a security choice.
Nice is 4th at the end of the first leg. Are you where you wanted to be halfway?
What interests me is the path, and the end of the season to decide our ranking. What I told the players was above all that we have 30 points after 17 days. We had four after four days. That’s 26 points over the last 13 days, that’s two points per match, that’s not trivial. To be ambitious, you have to put a lot into the matches. If against Reims, you don’t do a lot of things, you have a lot more problems than what we had this evening. Reims had hooked many big ones at home or away. We had to have a very good match for it to happen like that.
At the start of the second period, Reims put a lot of pressure on. We imagine that you are satisfied not to have taken this goal which could have changed everything…
We were solid during this strong moment in Reims. We scored the third at that moment and we were even close to scoring the fourth. We suspected that it was going to start strong. It was important to spend this moment together, to defend well and not concede too much and then regain the ball. I know that we are capable of hurting a lot of people in transition or in a placed attack.
Gaëtan Laborde scored twice. We imagine that with its progression, it is an additional weapon for you?
Gaëtan has been playing very regularly as a center forward for a while. He came back quite quickly compared to his injury. Obviously, when you come back after two and a half months of absence, it takes a little time. All the work he did then has been paying off for several weeks. He scores goals, he works defensively for the team. He has always had his sense of goal and he will have it as long as he is an attacker. It’s important that we have players to finish our actions. Gaëtan has it in his blood.
He would have liked to stay a little more on the ground…
Yes, he would have liked to score the third, he told me that he had never scored a hat-trick. I thought he had already put some in, but he still has time to do it!
Was the panenka worked on in training?
He shoots penalties in lots of different ways in training. He felt it was the right thing to do at that moment, I can’t tell you anything else. The most important thing is that the ball is on the bottom.
On the penalty, he plays well…
I haven’t seen the images again. I don’t know how strong the contact is. The Reims bench shouted, I suppose, without seeing the action again. I didn’t see, at that speed, whether there had been a strong or light contact. What is certain is that there was contact, otherwise the VAR would have intervened.
Being fourth at mid-season, with the avalanche of injuries and a somewhat sluggish start, does that surprise you? Or did you expect this spectacular recovery?
Our start-up and start to the season was a little slow. We had to put things in place, we had late reinforcements in certain positions. Then there was this batch of injuries, so we changed our system, we have been using a four-man defense for several weeks. What is very good is that the players adapted perfectly, and those who were there when we had more than 12 professional players in training gave everything to allow us to win difficult matches. The period was very special, we prepared for weeks with three matches which were not easy. Players have a lot of resources, they should know that. They have a lot of quality but also a lot of resources, and I like that.
After the match, we heard the music and shouts of joy in the locker room. We feel that the atmosphere is also lighter with the positive results. Do you feel it in group life?
We have had a good group life from the start. We try to ensure that the players enjoy training, that they take initiative when they play. They have to experience good times, because if we want to give them to others, they have to want to experience them with each other. From that side, I am rather satisfied with what they are experiencing, and with what we will continue to experience. It also helps to achieve results. As long as the circle is virtuous, I’m fine with it.
This return to the top 4, does this push the locker room to imagine qualification for the Champions League?
What is certain is that we must be ambitious. If, with all the ups and downs of the first six months, we are here with so many points, it is because there is quality. There are still things to improve because we are still conceding goals, but there is play, we are scoring a lot. Ambition is measured only by what we put on the ground. Given the squad we have, we have to be ambitious. But it’s the players who have the answer. When they put in what they put in tonight, it pushes you to continue to be ambitious.
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