A disappointed coach. For his first in Bollaert-delelis, Pierre Sage too little appreciated the release of his boys against AS Roma this afternoon as part of the 6th and penultimate preparation match.
Lensois.com: Rome posed a lot of difficulties to you, especially in the first period when it was complicated to project yourself forward and have, if only an opportunity?
We were very good until the goal, we have to open the brand twice, but then we completely abandoned, we abandoned the pressing, we hid to take out the ball. There was no pass line and therefore few possibilities to play. It resulted in the fact that our goalkeeper was almost forced to clear. For me, it is an admission of weakness. So, at halftime, I asked the players to at least play the match. Losing or winning it was not really the question, but at least competing for it, and competing for it as we wanted to do. I think the second half was a little better, with the changes of players. But despite everything, we cannot abandon ourselves like that, two games from our first day of the championship, leaving so many initiatives to our opponent.
How do you understand such a displayed face?
For me, it is simply courage. The courage to leave space behind his back to hurry, then the courage to ask for the ball and, from time to time, to lose it, as we do on the second goal. Ultimately, I better like that we take goals as we took the second, having intentions of play. Because it is obvious that, from time to time, it will develop positively. Conversely, when we do not play at all, we are completely at the mercy of our opponent.
It was your sixth preparation match, are we getting closer to the face of the team that will start the championship?
After Wolverhampton, we decided to relaunch the principle of merit based on the relationship to the game principle that we want to put into practice, the more performance. Today, there are players who, unfortunately, have not lived up to expectations and who will probably be replaced on the next match, depending on what will happen this week. There will be the same logic against Leipzig and Lyon. Because to play in this team, you have to want to play in a certain way, and play in a certain way.
“We have the right to lose games, but we are not allowed not to play them”
Do you feel extremely disappointed with the team’s performance?
Completely. I don’t care about the result. I consider that we have the right to lose games, but we are not allowed not to play them. Today, for 30 minutes, a third of the match, we did not play the match at all. In this sense, one cannot claim to have an ambition and display such a pale face.
It’s a surprise, because we hadn’t seen that on the preparation.
A little still on the first half against Wolverhampton, we had been abused, but we had managed to progress, in half-time, towards what we expect. Today, what is weird is that we really attacked. We have to open the brand twice. And unfortunately, we left the initiative to the opponent. We fell rather than put the opponent under pressure. As soon as we had the ball, there were very few solutions to transmit it. So we lost it fairly quickly. It is quite revealing of a team that lacked courage to play.
Is that what you told them when you gathered them at the end of the match?
This is what I said at halftime. And this is the contrast that I gave at the end of the match by telling them that our ambition was displayed, we had to assume it. Today, we were not there, at least 30 minutes from this match. There have been good return among the players who entered half-time and second half. So that opens the team. And maybe sometimes opening the team makes some react and brings them back to their level of performance.
