Our position in the standings is not in line with our ambitions. We have the third budget of the D1, we had a quality workforce with French and foreign internationals. We had accustomed our supporters to big results and it is true that this season therefore appears to be disappointing. We want to understand why we…
Our position in the standings is not in line with our ambitions. We have the third budget of the D1, we had a quality workforce with French and foreign internationals. We had accustomed our supporters to big results and it is true that this season therefore appears to be disappointing. We want to understand why we only finished this championship in sixth place. It is important to learn from our mistakes, to see what we have done well, because there have been good things, and less well done. We are in deep reflection at all levels.
Have you made any progress in this reflection?
In Bordeaux, the reflections are done internally and the conclusions are delivered internally as well. One thing is certain, we are going to change the philosophy of the women’s section. I arrived in November with the mission of creating a global project. We are therefore going to focus our work on the young people, on the training centre. We want to highlight the strengths of the club but that will not mean a loss of ambitions. We have quality young players in our ranks, with young internationals. At the club, with the hope pole led by Jérôme Dauba, we have been working in this direction for several seasons. We want to give our hopes a chance. We can become an engine of the club.
However, you delete your reserve team which was playing in R1 this season?
Yes because the difference in level between the R1 and the D1 is far too great. We rather favor links with clubs in the region such as Mérignac Arlac or Montauban which plays in D2. We can imagine making loans for players who will gain experience and playing time at a higher level. These young shoots need to chain the matches. And I think that lending them to structured clubs with a real game plan is part of our new policy. We can then bring them back to the Girondins to develop them with the first team.
The team records ten departures with in particular those of Tainara at Bayern, Perisset at Chelsea, Bilbault, Lavogez or Snoeijs. Are you worried about what’s next?
We had known this for months and we anticipated these departures. It is the cycle of life. The budget has been reduced. I have to work with the means entrusted to me but it is not a drastic cut either since we are going from 2.3 million to 1.9 million euros. And then we keep a lot of quality players like Lardez, Dufour, Chatelin, Garbino, Palis, Chavas or the Dutch Folkertsma who was injured most of last season. The quality is with us. We are certainly losing executives, but we are also going to create some. For Ella Palis, who will compete in Euro 2022 with the France team, we have refused proposals from big teams because we want to rely on her skills next season. But we are not the only club to see important players leave. We can see that French women’s football is suffering in the face of its foreign competitors. The best players prefer to leave outside our borders. Beyond the sporting challenge, the development of women’s football is much more advanced among our neighbours. In Spain, for example, the state has given 16 million euros to elite clubs to invest in their infrastructure and structure themselves. In France, the French Football Federation has given only 50,000 euros for each D1 club. The gap is widening between us and the others. We must also meet quickly in France to define what we want to do with women’s football in France.
What will be the fate of coach Patrice Lair?
He is under contract until 2023. He is part of the overall reflection that we have but I have not contacted other coaches. I know agents are trying to spread rumors about negotiations with technicians. But these rumors are baseless. At the moment, I don’t see why Patrice Lair wouldn’t be on the bench next season.
And rookie section?
