OGC Nice’s Executive Vice-President, Maurice Cohen, spoke in the mixed zone after Nice’s defeat in Strasbourg (3–1), calling for self-reflection and a wake-up call given the club’s urgent situation as it fights to stay in the top flight.

Did you feel like you saw a team fighting to stay in Ligue 1 tonight?

No, we saw a catastrophic team. We saw a team that played for 10–15 minutes in the first half. After that, we saw a team lacking confidence that gave up. That’s not how we’re going to survive. The players need to pull themselves together, there needs to be energy and the will to fight. Right now, what we’re facing is a knife-edge battle. They need to realise that, and I think some of them still aren’t in that mindset.

How do you get them into that mindset?

We’ll try. We’re going to fight. We knew it would be difficult, it’s not something we’re discovering today. So we’ll fight to try to get their heads back in the right place. Some of them, not all. But some clearly need a reality check. They need to serve the club and themselves!

Claude Puel has only won two matches since arriving. So is it really not about the coach, since the same problems remain?

It’s about mindset, about the team. A major issue of morale. You can clearly see we struggle to score, we’re always under pressure, the ball bounces around in the box and no one is there to put it in the net. Even with Elye’s contribution, which has been positive, we still struggle to create real chances and finish them. So we’re going to have to fight. I know it won’t be easy, but we’ll do everything we can. The players need to question themselves and fight for the club.

You mentioned attitudes, do changes need to be made?

We’ll see. Some attitudes are unacceptable. But we’ll deal with that internally. Right now, we need to stay united, stick together, and not create more tension than what’s already on the pitch. I think some of them believed that with a five-point cushion, things would be comfortable, but it’s not comfortable. We’re hosting Le Havre, then going to Lille… nothing will be easy.

Are those attitudes the most worrying thing?

What’s worrying is the lack of cohesion and total lack of confidence. As soon as we concede, we disappear completely. That’s the problem. It has to change if we want to bounce back, especially with a tough schedule ahead. We’re going to have to roll up our sleeves, like in the old days. We’ve been through this before.

It must be even more frustrating with 500 Nice fans making the trip…

Yes, it makes me angry. Honestly, I feel worse for our supporters than anything else. There were 600 of them, they came the day before, maybe stayed overnight, then have to travel back by car or bus… only to watch a performance like that. It’s outrageous. It’s not normal.

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