Check out what Olivier Pantaloni had to say about the following three topics that were raised in his pre-match press conference ahead of OGC Nice's game at home to Stade Rennais FC at 19:00 CET on Friday (Matchday 9 of Ligue 1).

ON THE COMPETITION WITHIN THE SQUAD

“In my mind, we don't have a “strongest XI” right now. The competition for places heats up as soon as the players start performing well. It can all change, so nothing is set in stone. When a player comes off the bench and does well, the player that started the game might ask questions of himself. He'll certainly need to do more to try to be in the starting XI every time.

“I think that's good for the squad. That competition is basically what will determine the choices that are made.”

ON RENNES

"We'll be up against another big team, one that is very intense and that puts an enormous amount of pressure on its opponents. That's why I wanted to stress the importance of technical proficiency upon the players. We'll need to keep a cool head under pressure so that we can move the ball up the pitch and cause them problems, and that will require us to be very good technically. They're a complete team in every department, and they changed their system in their last two games. They switched from a back four to a back five.

“We've tried to prepare for both systems so that the players don't get surprised.”

ON STAYING DOWN TO EARTH

"Things are so fragile… We should savour what we've done and be very happy with the team's behaviour and results, but, in my view, we should also challenge ourselves constantly and start afresh on a sound footing without getting ahead of ourselves.

“We need to keep working on the areas where we're lacking and to redouble our efforts because, again, we'll be up against a very tough team.”

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