Olivier Pantaloni spoke to the media shortly after Nice’s 3-0 defeat away to Paris FC on Sunday 30 August.

Coach, it feels as though this defeat has exposed the team’s shortcomings when it really mattered…

It hurts, and it’s a heavy defeat. Until today, we had highlighted how solid our team had been defensively. Today, we gave away a few gifts that cost us dearly in a match where we felt we were in control, particularly in the first half, when we had possession and tried to stop the opposition from playing, pressing high and winning the ball back. Once again, as was the case last week, what we were missing was greater incisiveness and determination in the final 30 metres. At the start of the second half, I thought we were fairly good, with dominance and control. We were playing in their half, but it was sterile dominance, without creating any real chances. The second goal, which came after we lost the ball in our own half, hurt us badly. I felt the players had the desire to get back into the game. After that, things became much more difficult.

The players didn’t give up, and we had to make changes. For some of them, it was their first match, so perhaps they lacked the energy to go all the way. What I regret is that, in trying to keep possession, we made technical errors that gave our opponents chances and goals. This is something we are going to have to work on with a lot of intensity.

In my view, the biggest area of work is in attack, so that we can create much clearer-cut chances. There will be a lot of work needed in that area.

In your view, is it simply a matter of building understanding and experience within the squad?

There may be a lack of understanding because of the new principles we’re putting in place. But despite that, I think our presence in the penalty area and our determination to score have to be much stronger when we get into these situations. Beyond that, there was also a lack of technical accuracy, particularly with crosses. That’s damaging when we manage to get ourselves into good positions. We need accuracy, presence and determination when attacking the balls that are delivered into the box.

You imagine Elye Wahi will give you a lot in that area…

We hope so. We gave him a little more playing time than originally planned this afternoon. I hope that will do him good and help him get back to his full fitness and capabilities. We have no doubt that he will be a very important player for us this season.

Does Laurent Abergel’s injury absence hurt the team’s balance?

Laurent was an essential member of our squad, unfortunately he got injured. We know we won’t have him for a little while. Being able to sign Axel Witsel is an excellent thing for us. He brings us what Laurent could have brought, with his experience, technical quality, understanding of the game and everything he can contribute in terms of stature and leadership in the dressing room. They could potentially play together. We could even consider changing our system because Djibril Coulibaly is also performing very well in midfield. That’s a possibility, but we’re not at that stage yet.

Are you tempted to change the system depending on how the transfer window ends?

We can consider it. Even though this is only the second match and we shouldn’t downplay the result by telling ourselves that we still have plenty of time, we can start thinking about another system. But we’re not going to completely overhaul everything overnight. There has been a period of preparation. We’ll take the time to think things through carefully, but we’re not ruling anything out.

What positives can you take from the match despite such a heavy defeat?

Aside from the turnovers that cost us dearly, I thought there was good control and a desire from the team to press the opposition very high up the pitch and put them under pressure. There were also some individual positives, with a very good performance from Mohamed Abdelmonem on his return, as well as Axel Witsel. That being said, we’re expecting more from some of the other players.

Particularly Gauthier Hein and Sofiane Diop in terms of their attacking contribution?

Yes, as well as our wing-backs, who also need to be better.

Melvin Bard seemed to struggle a little on the left. Is that a question of his profile or his confidence?

Maybe a bit of both. For players to fully express their qualities, you need a degree of competition for places. Today, we have Ali Abdi preparing to return. When he’s back, there will be competition for the position, and I hope that will push everyone to raise their level of performance.