Here is Franck Haise's reaction at the press conference after Thursday's defeat to Freibourg at the Allianz Riviera (1-3).

Coach, tonight (Thursday), would you say that it was more that Le Gym lost the match than that Freiburg won it?

It was still Freiburg who won it, but we definitely lost it, that's for sure.

Do you feel ashamed tonight?

Shame is a strong word. What is certain, and I told the players this, is that we are not doing enough. Even though we started the match quite well, moving the ball around, controlling the game and scoring a great goal, everyone needs to do better, beyond individual mistakes. Myself included, because I'm judged on results, and in Europe, we're clearly not up to standard. Since I've been here, I've been talking about high standards, hard work, day-to-day effort... Not to fall every time there's a challenge. That's the case with a lot of players, and it's the same in training. At some point, you have to stop falling. And when you start playing, you have to keep playing, so why do we stop? We need to be at 110% all the time given our level, and even more so in Europa League matches.

Do you feel that your team cracked mentally?

In 13 minutes, yes. First goal, first mistake, then a second and a third. It's not the same going into half-time at 2-1, especially with the chances we created in the second half. We could at least have reduced the deficit, but if you're 2-1 down at half-time, it's not the same thing. The third goal was symptomatic. There's no coming back, it's open... Yes, we cracked mentally in 13 minutes.

It feels like you had done the hard work by opening the scoring...

That's why I'm so annoyed. I think we had the game in our hands at that point and we could have really hurt them if we'd kept doing what we were doing for 25 minutes. Of course there were mistakes and there always will be. But what do we do with those mistakes? Do we bounce back together? That wasn't the case for 13 minutes. Then we hung on in the second half, switched to a 4-2-3-1, but at 3-1 down in Europe, when you're not clinical, it's difficult.

Your defence seemed demoralised after the equaliser... Did you feel your players lacked aggression?

If that's how you feel, I can understand it. Also, we were having a good run, we'd just fought hard in some difficult matches, we'd got results against much tougher opponents than tonight. We started well, we scored, but in 13 minutes, we threw it away. There's physical strength, there's mental strength, there's character... I'm certainly not instilling enough of that in them, I'm putting myself out there. I've passed on messages, I hope they've heard them.

Did you consider taking Melvin Bard off at half-time?

I considered him and Ali (Abdi). You couldn't say Ali was in top form either, and we needed a bit of balance in the back four. Melvin had a good second half and showed character despite his two mistakes. But I could have changed one or two others.

Do you doubt your team's ability to overcome this mental hurdle?

The doubt comes from the fact that we have to be at 110% all the time. If the lads don't understand that, I'm there to remind them, and in fact I did: 110% all the time! I already said this last year, and yet we had more character and more physical strength. If you don't give more, you'll be blown away in 13 minutes. Yes, you need a lot of strength of character in football.

Does your anger extend beyond tonight's match?

Until we understand that we need to stick together all the time, that we need to work as a team all the time, that we can't sulk when we're substitutes or when we're taken off... Show it on the pitch! Some players do that, including tonight. Some players played a very good game and have been doing so for a while. But we have to do it all the time. Put your ego aside. It's not your ego that will make you run or make you pass the ball well... We're not world champions, neither me nor them. So let's give it our all.

What are your expectations for Sunday's match in Metz?

That we give it our all. That we respond in the game, in the duels, everywhere, and that even if there's a mistake, we respond together. We can't let our heads drop because it's 1-1 in the 32nd minute.

This season, it seems like you're giving yourselves the means to perform well in the Europe, unlike last season with all the injuries...

I don't know how things will turn out in the coming weeks and months, but I've told them that even if we lose the next three games, in the eighth game, I'll put out my best team. Or at least the team I think is the best at that moment. And if it means it'll be even tougher on Sunday, so be it. I'm fed up with losing games.

Does this match call things into question within the group?

It doesn't call anything into question. I'm a coach who protects a lot. I'm demanding in my office, but I protect a lot outside and even collectively. But at some point, you have to say things. We're not doing enough. When we lose duels, when we're on the ground all the time, we have to talk about it. When you're unhappy because you're not playing and you're not good when you're on the pitch, you have to talk about it. And I'll say it again, the first one who's not good is me. And if one day someone else is better, they'll take him. I have no problem with that. But the lads have to give it their all. They have to give it their all, we can't afford to do anything else, they have to understand that. We're capable of doing good things when everyone works together, those who come on, those who come off, those on the bench...

Do you feel alone in speaking up?

That's my role. We're not going to get into that. We're together, there's no problem. I have to make sure my team performs as well as possible, that they give it their all. When we can't do anything else, like in Paris, we did what we could with our resources and our organisation, and we conceded a cruel goal five seconds from the end, and I didn't say anything. Tonight, when I look at the first 25 minutes, I'm pretty satisfied. I tell myself that things have changed in the play. But five minutes later, we concede a goal and we sink. That's not what top-level football is about.

---