“What is the group’s state of mind before entering the Europa Conference League?
We are enthusiastic, ready. Getting into this competition is what we worked for all last year, what we fought for in the play-offs in August. The team is well prepared for this match. We all know that you have to start well at home. We have to take things in hand, we want to be leader in this group, we also have to show our ambition.
Exactly, what are LOSC’s ambitions in this competition? Go to the end as coach Paulo Fonseca said in an interview?
We can be ambitious. Afterwards the European Cup matches are very difficult, even more so in this competition, against teams that we don’t really know. We don’t know where the levels are. We saw it against Rijeka, all the matches are complicated, in the intensity, physically, we know that they are not going to give up. I think we can do well in this competition, I think we can maybe go very far, but we have to show it, that’s the most important thing. The most important thing in this group stage is to do well at home and take things in hand.
“We have to learn much faster”
Compared to previous European competitions contested by LOSC, this time you will be among the favorites. What does this status change?
Strictly nothing. We just know that we have to win this first match, we have prepared well for it. We know what we have to do.
What lessons did you learn from the frustrating match against Rennes on Saturday (2-2)?
We discussed it a lot, between players or with the coach. We managed our match very well for 75 minutes, but we had a last quarter of an hour which was not what we know how to do. We have a young team, we are learning, but we must learn much more quickly, manage these end of matches, manage over the entire match, with control.
We did some very good things, we conceded very few chances in Rennes. We have to manage to do it over 90 minutes, pay attention to all the details, to our placements, to our ball losses, to our choices. Everything is important, we have to understand it quickly enough so that we can be consistent over 90 minutes or more. »
