Timothée Kolodziejczak : "Ramener la coupe d'Europe à Sainté"

You made your return to the team to face Montpellier. How do you feel physically?

It’s going better. I still have some pain but it’s bearable. Things should be fine Saturday. In any case, I have no apprehension.

How are you tackling this match?

We have an objective to reach. We didn’t know how to do this against Montpellier. It will be a semi-final at home in front of our fans. We are keen to bring the European Cup back to Saint-Étienne.

Has the team come to terms with the defeat against Montpellier?

A loss always hurts but that’s in the past. We may have been a little tense. We missed openings to score that we don’t usually miss. Despite everything, we still have the objective of the club in mind. We lost Friday, of course, but we were good for a few weeks. It does not detract from our journey. Since the first match, we’ve known that we must finish the season as European champions. We have the great opportunity of finishing the job on our home turf. There will be players absent but the club is working with the youths so that we can call on them if needed.

How do you judge Nice’s season?

Their two absent players are important players for their game strategy, especially for bringing the ball out from in front of their net. It’s a team that likes to play and that doesn’t let in many goals. They aren’t scoring a lot either, despite their offensive talent. With Youcef Atal, they’ve had a great player these last few weeks.

Finishing the season on your home turf in front of the Stéphanois fans with a qualification for the European Cup would be the greatest reward…

Our fans are our team’s 12th man. But, on our end, we’ll have to gift wrap the match for the fans so that they drive us forward. The ideal situation would be to begin the match well, play with folly. Those are matches you savour and that are interesting to play. Our fans will do their job in the bleachers. We’ll have to do ours on the field.