Paulo Fonseca after two games to forget: «We talked a lot this week»
Lyon boss accepts criticism after Manchester United and St. Etienne games; Matic ‘all good’
It took a lot of mental work at Lyon this week after their elimination from the Europa League – in that crazy game with Manchester United and defeat to Saint-Étienne – a game marked by an assault on an assistant referee.
Coach Paulo Fonseca stressed that “there has been a lot of talk” in the team’s dressing room in recent days, accepting the criticism levelled at him following these defeats, particularly the one in Manchester, after having been winning 4-2 and ending up losing 4-5. “We talked a lot this week, we did some mental work. I have to accept the criticism, otherwise we can’t do this work. We have to accept it, work and carry on”, he said in the preview of the game against Rennes , stressing that his absence from the bench against St. Étienne had no influence on the result, especially as the team is already beginning to figure out what to do to deal with his suspension.
“Football is very emotional and mental. In Manchester we had some difficult moments, but for the derby you need to have attitude. After the 120 minutes in Manchester, we couldn’t play with the same players. I believed in all the players, but in the first 45 minutes we didn’t do what we usually do,” he said, also asked why Matic hadn’t played in England. “When players don’t play, I understand the frustration. But I’m the coach and I make the decisions that I think are best for the team. I spoke to him (Matic) after the game in Manchester. At the moment, he’s fine, he’s having a good week of work and he’s ready to play the next game.”
«Fans are right»
Niakhaté spoke first, saying he agreed with the banner left by fans at the training centre, which read “From pride to shame, four games to the podium.”
«They said it all. This season, the team is proud of us, but we started badly. We feel like we have lived four lives this season, life expectancy has diminished for everyone. We have come a long way. We have four finals ahead of us, if we win the last four games, we will be in the Champions League. The banner sums up the situation very well, and I am very happy about it, because there are four finals, three of them at home, and we will need the fans.»
