“It was a unanimous decision. It has to be when it comes to such an important role as that of the coach. I spoke about it with my brother Jim, and we took, all together, this difficult decision“, explained Bob Ratcliffe in Nice-Matin, without specifying when the departure of Patrick Vieira had been recorded.
“I don’t remember the exact timing. We spoke regularly and at quite a long time with Jean-Pierre (Rivère), Julien (Fournier) and Jim. We had reached the point where it was time to finalize this decision. his departure, we discussed it with him and we keep it internally. We have great respect for Patrick (Vieira). He brought a lot to the club, he is a football legend, he attracted very good players and he always gave 100% of what he could for the OGCN, he also said.
And to continue: “Jim and I appreciate him very much, it’s true. So we didn’t take the decision lightly. To answer you: since he left, I haven’t had any contact with Patrick. I hope. one day we’ll have the opportunity to meet again and have a coffee together. Football is a small world. I know he will bounce back. He has everything to be a top coach. “
“We especially did not want to rush”
How often in these moments, many names of potential successors circulated, among which a list of four (Advocaat, Van Gaal, Heinze, Klinsmann) that would have proposed Bob Ratcliffe himself …
“False. I don’t know where these rumors come from. Above all, we didn’t want to rush. There are two thirds of the championship left. We had time. The choice must be simple, obvious. But first, it takes a lot of work. college to find the right profile “, denied the Englishman.
For whom today “the best trainer for the Gym is the one on the bench (Adrian Ursea). For the future, we will see who will be the best candidate. We don’t need a big name, we need a manager whose qualities suit the club perfectly. “
