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Vieira: “There were signs that things are getting better”

Do you have any regrets after this draw?

The regret that I have is to have given away that penalty so early on in the second half. Adapting to the changes that I made at half-time took a bit of time. Psychologically, it hurt us to concede that goal so early on.

Why did you make the change at the break?

It wasn’t working as well as I had wanted in the first half. We were struggling to get possession of the ball, we were running too much and we weren’t putting Bordeaux in enough trouble. They had the superiority in midfield and I wanted to change that. Apart from the penalty, we weren’t really troubled. We were more solid defensively, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to give that little extra to be more dangerous in attack.

Paulo Sousa said before you in his press conference that his side were a lot better than Nice this evening…

(Smiles) What’s interesting is that you can watch the same match and have different opinions. In terms of possession maybe yes, but if winning matches was based on possession, we would have won a lot more…
In terms of clear-cut opportunities, I don’t think that Bordeaux were better than us. The draw seems to be fair.

“We need to take it up a level in our play”

The side that you were able to start this evening is beginning to get closer to your best eleven.

Yes but I knew that we were going to have some problems, Adam (Ounas) lacked rhythm, it was his first match, and at some stage in the match he was going to drop off physically. Kasper (Dolberg) was a bit withdrawn at times. Stanley (Nsoki) held on well but it was a question mark before the game. These players will get better and better as the matches go on and the team will improve. 

Could this draw be considered as a below-par performance?

Yes, but you also have to recognise the quality of the opponent. These past few weeks have been very difficult for us but it’s encouraging that there are signs that things are getting better. 

Was this match difficult for your side physically at the end of the game?

No, I don’t think so. We struggled in the first quarter of an hour but we ended the game quite well physically and we had a couple of chances at the end that we could have done better with.

Were you satisfied by the spirit that your players showed?

Yes. In the closing stages, the supporters pushed us on, that’s something that is important for us, they see the efforts of the players. Not everything was perfect once again, but in terms of their commitment, I have nothing to criticise. We need to take it up a level in our play, it’s by working that we will get there.