Arnaud Nordin : “Finish as high in the rankings as possible”

What is the ambition of the club for the end of the season?

We already have to win Monday against Nîmes. It’s a high-quality team, a real pain in the but to play, they’re not going to give us an inch. I know this team well from having faced them last year when I was loaned to AS Nancy Lorraine. We have nine final matches to play in order to hope to finish as high in the rankings as possible. The European Cup? The players, the club and the fans miss it. Everyone would love to play for the cup next season.

Could the international break have halted your momentum?

On the contrary, I think that it came at the right moment. It lets us escape a little bit, to rest our legs and minds. We’re also going to recover the players who were injured. We’ll be back in the Cauldron ready to begin the home stretch.

Did your good performance in Caen and your goal liberate you?

I needed that small victory that I wasn’t getting during my other games earlier in the season. Finally scoring this first goal did me good. This gives me confidence for the rest of the season. My teammates are helping me with this.

You just prolonged your contract…

I’m very happy about that and very proud to continue my adventure with the club that trained me. But it’s just the beginning, I want to prove myself on the field. I work and I try to learn as much as I can every day.

What is your opinion regarding your professional progression?

I have work to do in every domain. Being more relaxed at the end of the game for example. In Saint-Étienne, I speak and I learn much from Romain Hamouma, and Yann M’Vila. They give me precious advice.

The club is integrating many youths this season. Is this a good thing in your opinion?

Even earlier in our training, we were many youths on the field. We learn so much alongside the very good players, certainly the international players. We see the fruits of our labour in National 2 and in U19. In the Coupe Gambardella, our journey is not yet finished. I hope that they’ll play the best match possible, and that we’ll meet them in the Stade de France.