Nice are eliminated. What's your feeling?
That's how it goes. We were expecting it a bit. We made a hash of our start to the competition in the first two matches.  Overall in our Europa League campaign, we weren't effective enough in attack or in defence. We lacked a bit of bottle, and patience too at times. We're out of the competition, but we didn't turn in bad performances - tonight we saw lots of positives for the future.

Yes, there were positive points tonight…
We decided not to play certain players given that there are three matches awaiting us in the next ten days. We had to rotate the squad a bit. But there are positive to come out of that, notably in terms of the players who haven’t started many games so far this season. Marcel made a strong return, getting us moving forward smartly when he got on the ball. Donis showed some great stuff too, with a shot hitting the bar early on. These lads are just 19 or 20… 

You really did ring the changes. Is that an indication that the league is a higher priority than the Europa League?
We've done it this way throughout the season so far. But this was the first time that, after an european match, we had three matches to play in the following week. There are still eight matches to play in the next three and a half weeks. I had confidence in the players I fielded; I see the work they do in training. They're making slow but steady progress.

So are you now looking ahead to next season for another chance in Europe? Did this campaign see your side grow in experience?
We'll see. We mustn't get ahead of ourselves; we have to keep our heads screwed on straight. We'll take stock at Christmas time and see where we are in the league. Don't forget that there were a lot of changes to the squad over the summer. Nice is still a club under construction.

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