Unity, focus, and the support of the fans: in his pre-match press conference, Claude Puel laid out his blueprint for Sunday’s home game against Le Havre (5:15pm CEST). 

REMAIN UNITED

“There was a lot of frustration shown (in Strasbourg), perhaps for some it was because they were brought off at half-time. There was also quite a lot of passion shown after the game. My job is to keep everyone pulling the same way. To pay attention to everyone in those sorts of situations, all those kinds of behaviour, and everything that could go against our collective expression, our unity. It’s necessary to bring people into line and be very careful, because we all need to be focused on the objective. We can’t lose focus. We can’t get annoyed. We can’t do things that go against the common interest. Everything else is for us to deal with internally. Were there punishments? There is a sliding scale, and it was applied.”

PREPARING THE GAME AGAINST LE HAVRE

“You prepare for every game differently because each opponent poses you different questions. When you have had a good performance collectively, it is always easier to prepare the next game. In this case, I have to pay attention to a number of parametres, and that the players are really focused on performance, that they don’t let themselves get overwhelmed by the many different feelings they may have that can, sometimes, bring good things, and sometimes bad ones, because you lose sight of your priorty: to play this game. And this game is a competition between two teams that are in trouble in the league table, who want to get on with it, who want to impose themselves. We have to put all that into the best possible context to express ourselves well.”

THE POPULAIRE SUD’S PUBLIC STATEMENT OF SUPPORT

“I think it’s very good. There are a lot of positive things regarding that initiative in relation to being with the players and helping them put in their best performance possible. The attitude of our fans is a factor that forces us to be even more focused and to perform well. To be ready to help each other and be united.”

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