Eirik Horneland: "It's time to show consistency"

Injury Update

Lucas Stassin is not fit for this match. He is still in the rehabilitation phase but is in good hands. It’s a muscular issue, and we’re doing everything we can to have him available for the game against Toulouse. Fingers crossed! Pierre Ekwah took a knock to the calf but will be back in training tomorrow. As for Benjamin Bouchouari, he is available. He has worked hard to return, and it’s great to have him with us again. He was very important when he played and we’ve missed him in recent games. He’s fit to start and gives us additional options.

The Role of Striker

We chose to start with Djylian N’Guessan against Monaco because, in my opinion, he’s the closest in style to Lucas Stassin. He did a good job in the first half. Then we wanted pace and depth, so we brought in Ibrahima Wadji. Ibrahim Sissoko can also be an important player, especially against a team like Reims that defends quite deep. He’s a valid option, especially since we need to have multiple weapons at our disposal.

The Team’s Mindset

Heads were down when we returned to training. Since then, we’ve talked things through and had some good sessions, especially on Wednesday. This whole season has been a battle—that’s nothing new. We know we have to beat Reims and then Toulouse to stay in Ligue 1. We can’t be thinking about other teams’ results—if we want to help ourselves, we need to focus fully on these two matches.

This Weekend’s Opponent

Reims have found a playing style that works, characterized by a cohesive mindset and a more connected setup introduced by their new coach. They play very compactly and are adept at counter-attacking. They know how to endure pressure. They've also secured wins that have allowed them to be in a less precarious position today.
Back in early January, they were a struggling and somewhat fragile team. Since then, they've managed to bounce back. It will be much more challenging this time around. But compared to the first leg, both teams have made progress. We attack better now and are capable of creating opportunities against any team in the league, even though we still concede too many goals and face too many odd situations.
This has been a season where consistency across the league has made the difference. In our last two matches, we will need that quality. It's time to show consistency.