Confirming that meetings had taken place between the management and Franck Haise after the derby defeat against Marseille, Fabrice Bocquet stated in an interview with L’Equipe that the departure of the Aiglons coach was “not the solution”.

Franck Haise stated on Thursday evening, after the 3-0 defeat to Porto, that he had offered earlier in the week to act as a ‘sacrificial lamb’ to create a ‘shockwave’ in the Nice dressing room. The proposal was not accepted, as Fabrice Bocquet confirmed on Friday: "He suggested leaving without resigning, and I told him I was not in favour of that solution," adding that Florian Maurice (sporting director) and Jean-Claude Blanc (CEO of INEOS Sport) were "on the same page".

"Then the four of us (Blanc, Bocquet, Haise and Maurice, editor's note) had a working meeting with Franck's staff, during which we discussed what we could do together to turn the situation around. There is work to be done on a daily basis to improve things. The winter transfer window will be an opportunity that could help us, but it should not be seen as the solution to all our problems. One thing is certain: letting Franck go is not the answer."

With the situation clarified and the speculation dismissed, "the leverage belongs to the staff, the coach, the players and the club's management; it's being played out at all levels," he continued, in this "difficult" period for Le Gym. ‘We've seen Nice teams that have been more resilient than this one, with less talented players," he also pointed out.

From this interview, the president of OGC Nice highlighted in particular Franck Haise's "desire to continue". "He said he didn't want to throw in the towel and didn't want to abandon his players, and that's the main thing. We must be resilient and show unity. I battled hard a year and a half ago to get Franck and his staff to join us."

---