Jean-Louis Gasset : "A logical defeat"

How would you describe this defeat?

It was a logical defeat considering our first half. We were undermined physically, and we lacked efficiency. To have still let in a goal due to due a dead ball situation bothers me. We already lost 1-0 in Lyon by letting a goal in due to a dead ball situation. In Rennes, we fell behind 1-0 in the same situation. Today it was Balotelli who, thanks to his physical prowess, scored this first goal against us.

Were you surprised by the pressure Marseille exerted on you?

No it was expected. That’s why we decided to begin the game carefully in order to try afterwards, if we kept up, to have more ambition. We changed our system in the second half and we had strikers step onto the field in order to try to make them doubt themselves. Alas, we couldn’t even the score in order to feel hopeful.

Why was Loïc Perrin called out of the game at half time? 

Loïc had a sore calf in the middle of the first half, which justified his replacement but not the changing of our system which would have still taken place if Loïc could have finished the match.

Do you regret the game plan used to begin the match?

No I have no regrets. We’re dealing with major injuries and many players who come back from major injuries but who aren’t ready to play for an hour and a half. We’re trying to throw something together and that’s what we’re going to do until the end of the season with players in good health.

With this victory, Marseille has passed you in the rankings. Is this trivial at the stage of the competition?

No, it isn’t pleasing to be overtaken, but we’re still in 5th place. We still have 11 matches to play, six of which will be played on our home turf. Lille will be our next adversary at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium. We have to work more despite the misfortune that is overwhelming us and attain once again a certain level of physical fitness in order to obtain the objective of the club. With the players that we’re losing, being on the podium isn’t one of our ambitions. We’re realistic. We didn’t face one of the Top 4 teams, but many teams will lose twice against Paris and Lyon. When we take stock of the championship, we’ll say that we fought Marseille on their home turf and that we lost in their stadium. So we took three points each.