Jean-Louis Gasset : "The players will decide the outcome"

The Return to Montpellier

Going to Montpellier is and will always be special for me, of course. My family and my friends from the club will be present. Ghislain (Printant) and me were with the other team two years ago fighting the same fight that we fought here last season. When you spend 45 years in a city and in a club, they’re always close to your heart. It’ll be special, because we know everyone on the opposing team’s bench. Some are even friends. After, in regards of the match itself, there will be no surprise: Montpellier will want to win and we will too. It’s the players who will decide the outcome.

Montpellier HSC’s game style

Montpellier has reinforced itself offensively since they’ve evolved, with the arrival of (Andy) Delort, (Gaëtan) Laborde and (Florent) Mollet. The system seems to be the same. Defensive solidarity is the great driving force of the team. Concerning their state of mind and their commitment, I know how we’ll be welcomed. I’ll tell the players to not be surprised by their atmosphere, their commitment during the confrontations on the field. That’s their state of mind on their home turf. Despite the pressure, we have to play to our strengths. Last season, from the beginning of our match against them, they put the pressure on us. They really studied our game style.

The Tie Game in Strasbourg

We suffered, with ten players, and below 30 degrees. That was very difficult, even if the match was a bit distorted by the expulsion. In these cases, the wing players are important, because they’re the ones accompanying the striker. I tried to have them save their energy in order to keep our opponents at bay. When an expulsion takes place, you have to react quickly because everyone looks at you. The dynamic duo of Rémy Cabella and Wahbi Khazri? We could only see them. One goes for the ball, the other plays as a striker. We only had one 45-minute training session to put everything in place. Sunday, we finished exhausted. Monday and Tuesday, we worked on ball recovery, with small light exercises, some videos. But, good players always complement each other.