“You made your first two starts (in Rennes and against Ljubljana). How do you feel ?
I feel better, I really need to play more matches. I came two weeks late during prep, then I had a small injury (psoas), I had to catch up with the rhythm of the group. We did a good job with the staff. Now, it’s only the matches that will allow me to get back to this rhythm. But I feel better and better.
How did you experience this start of the season when you could not play?
I was very focused on a personal level to come back well, treat my little injury and have good feelings. Afterwards, I am a person who really likes to give advice, to have discussions, whether with the staff or the players, to find out how each person thinks, on an occasion, an event of the game, in order to be able to do better. Even during my time when I was injured, I had the opportunity to speak with all the players. And even more now that I manage to string together matches. I feel listened to, it’s a very concerned group, which wants to progress, it’s quite easy to have conversations to move forward and progress.
“I had a lot of resentment, a lot of things inside me and in the end, it didn’t allow me to move forward”
On his difficult times over the past few seasons
You had some difficult seasons before being reborn last year. How far do you see yourself going back?
Compared to everything I have experienced, I know exactly where I want to go, what I have to do to get there. We play football to hit as high as possible. Afterwards, there are stages, I don’t want to skip them at all, I’m very clear-minded about that. I want to settle in a club that suits me, to do good things and so that people can see my qualities. There will be stages, playing a series of matches, performing well, then the rest will come. I had some very good years in this blue jersey, but currently it’s really Lille, putting in good performances, winning matches…
What has been the most difficult moment for you in recent seasons?
There are some very difficult times that I have experienced but honestly, it is behind me. I did a lot of work on this because I had a lot of resentment, a lot of things inside me and in the end, it didn’t allow me to move forward. That’s life, I understood that in a career, there are ups, downs, things that happen, some of which I can’t handle on my own. We adapt to the situation, that’s how it is now. It’s a message that I pass on to young people, we really have to live in the present moment, take everything there is to take, realize that we have the chance to do an incredible job and, when we are in good health, we really have to take advantage of it.
What kind of match do you expect against Reims (Tuesday at 9 p.m.)?
They have a good coach (Will Still), a tactician, who likes to put his opponents in difficulty by adapting a little to the team he faces, sometimes changing the positioning of his players a little. It’s good. These are things that are not done a lot, few coaches dare to do what he does. I love having a team like that. We worked well to try to find their weak points and try to see where they gave us difficulty last season. We have two good tacticians, we will see which team will do best. »
