“The match tonight is a real disappointment. Beyond the result, what’s troubling is the performance itself,” said Fabrice Bocquet on Ligue1+. “We had already lost away to Brest and then to Le Havre, and it’s difficult to compete in the league or have high ambitions when you lose those kinds of matches. So clearly, we’re going to have to do much better. It’s important to raise our level, to be better in our overall play. We’re all fully aware of that.”

“Clearly, the current situation is not good enough. We have 17 points, that’s three fewer than at the same point last season. But beyond that, we believe that in terms of performance, we should be capable of doing better,” the OGC Nice President continued. “Because in the end, can we really say that our recent results have been undeserved? No, I don’t think so. That means we have to improve significantly. Both collectively and individually, we need to take more responsibility and raise our standards at every level.”

Fabrice Bocquet also emphasised the need to rediscover enjoyment: “That’s important, it’s even the foundation of strong team performance. So I think if there’s one thing we can focus on, it’s finding joy in the process among our hard work, in performance, and in the team’s progress.”

“We have many, many areas for improvement,” he added. “We’ve already conceded more penalties (five) since the start of the season than in the whole of last season. And even though I know the coach has pointed out other things, we’re also still not very effective on set pieces.”

“The alignment between the president, the sporting director, and the coach is what made us strong, and it’s what continues to make us strong. We’re building something long-term with Franck, his staff and Florian, and it’s up to us to support them as best as we can every day. Because clearly, we have to improve. The most important thing is to have humility, and I think we do, to admit that right now, we’re not at the level we need to be, and to ask ourselves what we must do to perform better. We’ll find the solutions together. It’s together that we’ll move forward and keep looking ahead.”

And there’s already an important date in mind: “In the very short term, we have the home match against Marseille (November 21), which is important, especially since that day we’ll also be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the ultras movement in Nice. We have to show something different.”

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