Interview

FAVRE: “Not a high-quality match”

After the defeat at the Stade Vélodrome, the Aiglons boss was critical of his side’s performance.

Coach, this match was spectacular…
There were chances for both sides. For the fans, it was good. For the manager, at times.. but on the whole, we didn’t play a high-quality match. There were too many gaps, too many things that were lacking.

Do you have any regrets?
No. We felt that there was a bit of easing off. We know that our objectives are achieved, that it’s impossible to achieve any others. But that isn’t an excuse. We weren’t compact enough, not good enough at the breakdown. That opens up too many gaps and we were disrupted. There were lots of chances for both sides, but it isn’t the high level.

You surfed some Marseille “waves” in the second-half.
As I said, we lacked compactness. There were too many gaps. They left some too, but we didn’t exploit them well, with not enough depth. We gave the ball away easily, by wanting to play too intricately. That happens…

You are still 3rd in Ligue 1!
When you feel like you could do better, it’s annoying. As a coach, we prepare for each game to win it. There was an opportunity to do even better. We lost the ball too much, we didn’t raise the tempo enough. After losing it, we needed to press more or to improve defensively as a team.

Marseille’s second goal must have driven you crazy on the bench.
You need to play more quickly. We lost 3 or 4 balls one after the other in that area. We needed to play it long and that’s all…

Second place in now unachievable...
We knew that, even with the results yesterday. It was over a while back, you need to be realistic.

(Journalist from Marseille) You seem to be tough with your team, because you leave being the best opponent to have come to the Vélodrome this year!
We didn’t play badly, but it wasn’t brilliant for me. We weren’t solid enough.

Did your side learn anything from this match?
Yes, we learn when we don’t give everything, we can lose against everyone. And at 100% we can’t beat everyone. Then you have to recognise that Marseille have some great players in Thauvin, Payet, Cabella, Sanson etc. Since these players have arrived, they have improved and they have the means to continue in that way.

The end of the season, will this give a chance to include young players like Srarfi who came on tonight?
We are professionals, it isn’t free to play. You need to show you are the best in training. But there are some injuries in the squad, especially with Ricardo’s hamstring.