Puel speaks

Let’s be honest, while I sometimes imagine how fun it could be to be a sport journalist when I watch Rennes’ coach Antonetti or PSG’s Kombouaré giving a press conference, I never get carried away too long as I suddenly realise that would also mean attending Claude Puel’s press conferences. And then for some reason my dream ends suddenly. Such a treatment is usually reserved either to journalists convicted of some felony, or researchers investigating the causes of depression.

But just like Lyon sometimes has a good game, Puel can occasionally give more interesting press conferences (rarely) or interviews (a bit more often). I am preparing a post of a recent interview by Puel who gives more insight to his personality, but for now I’m sharing bits of this week’s press conference, with his answers to questions we were asking ourselves.

Claude Puel, will you take advantage of the Nancy game to rest some players?
I must confess that I always ask myself the question. I have several alternatives and I have not yet decided. If I have to, it will be at the front, it is in this sector that we most need freshness.

Some players seem impatient on the bench?
I am not making a team composition to please the players. I know it is not obvious to some, but they must know that we will enter a period where the matches will repeat every three days. So, unlike January and February, everyone will fully take part in these games.

It’s in particular the case of Jimmy Briand and Miralem Pjanic …
Jimmy is a player who does not let go and works every day in training. He is always cheerful, even though I know he is not happy about not playing and I understand. In his state of mind and the management of his frustration, he is irreproachable. About Miralem, I am not worried. It’s true, he has a profile similar to Yoann Gourcuff but he is a player with character, he knows what he wants.

Are not you afraid that on Friday night, some of your players might already have their minds set on Real?
It is indeed a factor to be taken into account. The match against Nancy will not make the headlines, but it’s the kind of game that reveals the big teams. Against Saint-Etienne, I knew we would be present, like I know we will also be present in Lille. But frankly, what use would it be to win 4-1 at St Etienne if there is not a good result at home against Nancy? So we need to be especially wary that Nancy is much better now and has regained confidence after their victory over Auxerre (3-1). And if that team has already lost a few times, the games have often been tight.

What do you think of your recurring difficulties in the start of every half?
We know that. We keep repeating it and even insist on it in training. Yet it is a feature of our season. You can not hide it. Obviously I would like to achieve better starts to the match, like I’d also like to score one, two, three goals a game and then be able to do turnover late in the games. The problem is that it we had very few accomplished matches in the past two years. Lately, there has been our performance against Lorient (3-0) but we can not give ourselves enough safety margin to be able to rest players and take the foot off the pedal. This must be part of our progression and allow us to make our games easier.

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Category: Team News and Rumors