Pros Thursday 21 Dec 2017 à 00h15

Jean-Louis Gasset: «2018 will be fruitful»

Even if the Verts lost in the last minute of the game, Jean-Louis Gasset underlines that his team did a good job against Guingamp. According to him, with some good new players and the same state of mind showed in Guingamp, 2018 will be much better for the Verts.

What is your feeling after this defeat ?
2017 is a difficult year for AS Saint-Etienne and what happened tonight, with this goal in the last second, is a proof of that. And we just never manage to finish a game with eleven players on the pitch. Maybe because we are all too nervous, players and staff included. Except from that, I can’t reproach my players for this defeat. We changed our tactics during half-time in order to defend in the best possible way and it worked. We even managed to break the deadlock but then we conceded two goals. It is a difficult period and three or four club are struggling like us in France. But I saw a great state of mind from my players, so I have a lot of hopes.

What are you going to do to improve the team ?
It is a puzzle that we have to build in a calmer situation. Since I arrived, I feel everybody is nervous like if we were in a desperate situation. But one has to accept that there are some seasons more difficult than others. We also see other teams that are back to the sixth or eight rank in the league thanks to three good results in a raw. We have to hope that, in January, we will have the right team, with the same state of mind as tonight, and that we will be able to earn points against our direct opponents.

What do you expect in 2018 ?
When we will have our injured as well as suspended players back, we will live better days, especially if we manage to recruit good players. In that case, we will be more solid. Right now, the players are not fully confident. But with all those things, 2018 will be fruitful for the Verts.