Without getting carried away by the moment, Gym coach Olivier Pantaloni was still full of praise for his side following their stunning 5-2 Ligue 1 win over Rennes on Friday night.

Tonight, did Le Gym produce the sort of match you’ve been waiting for since the start of the season?

Yes, especially against such a strong opponent. We needed to raise our game. We’d had some good results, but to beat this team – second in the league coming into the game – we needed to do even more to come out on top. I think that, both in terms of our play and our commitment, drive and determination, we were a cut above what we’ve shown so far.

Is this the benchmark match for you?

It could be, particularly at home. It’s true that it was a complete performance, with moments when the players did well, got in good positions and played at the right tempo. And then in the second half, we perhaps had to drop back a little, be more patient, but also know how to counter this opponent. I think that, over the course of the match as a whole, we still were in control, whether we had the ball, but also during the periods when we were under more pressure.

Beyond the good team performance, how do you rate Elye Wahi’s hat-trick performance?

It’s a huge asset for us to have a player capable of scoring so many goals, of being so dangerous, and of being a thorn in the side of opposing defences. Even so, I think he still has room for improvement, given the number of chances he’s created since the start of the season. He would have deserved, or should have had, more goals to his name. But we know that, once again, he’s a constant threat to defences, and having a striker of this calibre up front is a huge asset for OGC Nice.

He also set up Jonathan Clauss’s goal by winning the ball back. Is that something you’d like to work on?

Yes, but even so, there were a few mistakes in his play. He needs to improve in that area too. But naturally, a striker wants to push forward quickly and get into good scoring positions. So it’s up to him to be a bit more level-headed, and that’s why I’m convinced he can contribute even more to the team. He’s already contributing a great deal, but there’s still room for us to be even more effective going forward.

Tonight, the attacking line-up performed well. You must be satisfied?

You can sense that things are really starting to click in the players’ minds in terms of what we’re trying to put in place. There’s also a high standard required in terms of technical quality. Even so, there were still quite a few turnovers in our play, but offensively, you can sense that the players are enjoying themselves more and more, and I hope we’ll continue along this path to create even more chances against our opponents. Tonight, we were up against a solid defence, after all. We still managed to cause them problems, which shows our desire to do well, to succeed and to play as a team too.

What did you think of your new-look midfield partnership, Boudaoui and Coulibaly?

It went very well. We’ve got a good number of quality midfielders in our squad at the moment. I think Morgan’s return in the second half was also very promising. He’s really getting back into his stride now. But, yes, I’m very pleased with that partnership today; it’s encouraging for the future and it’ll lift everyone’s game. Because, precisely, there’s going to be that competition within the squad, which is very healthy. Everyone wants to play, but everyone understands that certain choices have to be made. There isn’t necessarily any frustration, but rather a desire, when you come on, to add something extra to this team, just as Gauthier did tonight.

Was the defence also a real source of satisfaction tonight?

Yes, defensively, there too, we’re feeling more and more secure. The players feel confident out on the pitch, so that’s a level of discipline we must maintain. I think that tonight, against a team that looked to play behind us quite regularly, using their pace, we were able to cope with those runs, we stood up in the challenges, and we were solid from set pieces. We need to carry on in this vein and keep striving to get better and better.

Le Gym have beaten Lille, Strasbourg and Rennes, and held their own against Lyon. Does that make you want to raise your ambitions?

No, I think it’s still too early. We’re very pleased, of course, with these results; we’re proud of what we’ve done. Now, we’re going to stay level-headed, calm, humble and grounded, and constantly strive to move forward, make progress and keep picking up points. In the distant future, we’ll see whether there’s anything else we need to do or not. But for now, we’re satisfied with these results.

A word on the fans. Isn’t this the time of year when we’d expect to see more people at the Allianz?

I hope this will encourage a lot more people to come to the stadium. Tonight was a bit unusual because there was a concert and a rugby match on at the same time, so that may have diluted the crowd a little. In any case, with a match as exciting as tonight’s, we need the supporters. We’ve always said that the players need to make sure they draw them to the stadium. I think that today, with a performance like that, it should make the supporters want to come in greater numbers and support us even more.

You don’t sound particularly elated…

We’ll see in April or May whether we can afford to be elated or not. For the moment, I’m keeping a lid on things, hoping that we continue to progress and keep things going in our favour.

Can we say, after three months, that things are moving in the direction you’d hoped?

We’re always hoping things will move much faster. We’re pleased today that everything’s clicking, that the players have understood what we wanted to put in place, and that they’re enjoying themselves through the style of play we’re trying to develop. I still think, once again, that we can do better, and I’ll be encouraging the players to perform even better so they can continue to enjoy themselves and make progress in this league. We set a target at the start of the season: to avoid relegation, whilst aiming to finish in mid-table. For now, we’re on track. We need to achieve that quickly, but once again, we’re keeping our options open and we’ll see later on where we stand so that, if things go well, we can perhaps aim for something else.

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