Les Verts were exemplary on Sunday in Nice. Satisfied by the state of mind of his players against OGC Nice, Jean-Louis Gasset underlines that the outcome of the match was determined by a few details.
Are you satisfied despite the final result?
You’re never satisfied when you lose but the performance of the players was exemplary. The outcome of a match is determined by the details: a dead ball for Nice, a goal disallowed for being offside for us. These are some of the little details that led to our defeat today.
What pleased you in regards of your team’s performance?
With their state of mind, I feel confident about the next match. After what happened in Metz I was worried, but today I’m not thanks to our performance. Nice didn’t have an opening, Stéphane Ruffier didn’t any shot to stop. I felt that we could even the score at any moment. With a state of mind like that, we’re on the right path in order to begin a winning streak and to improve our ranking.
So what were the Verts lacking today?
In the opponent defensive, we lacked a little bit of folie, a little bit of confidence, which is the most difficult thing for us right now. The proof that we’re on the right path is that Nice didn’t create many openings for themselves during the game while they’re one of the best offensive teams in the championship. They needed a dead ball in order to score. My takeaway from this match is that on the inside we were serene and that the team delivered an excellent performance.
What would you like to take away from this match overall?
Collective performance. Everyone defended. In Metz, when we would lose the ball, all our players stopped running. Today, the Verts all worked and from the very moment when we regained possession of the ball we tried to give it our all during the first half. During the second half, we put Nice on the defensive and we just needed a bit of luck in order to get the goal that would have satisfied us.
Does the performance of Paul-Georges Ntep and Yann M’vila give you hope for the future?
We know that when we take a player during the winter transfer window, there is often a problem of rhythm for players. For Ntep, we have to limit his playing time in order to prevent injuries. M’Vila played for 60 minutes in Metz, today he played the whole match. Ntep will get there too. You have to manage to juggle all these factors.
What can you give these two players?
I know that they can do more. M’Vila brings us tranquility during matches and a certain technical base. Ntep will improve his abilities as a player and bring better rhythm to our attacks on the wings. I hope that they will be in tip-top shape as soon as possible.
