On the eve of the trip to Geoffroy-Guichard, Dijon coach Omar Daf appeared at a press conference. He wants his team, currently in difficulty, to regain offensive efficiency and take refuge in work.
On those absent: “For Ousseynou Thioune, he will be unavailable for several weeks. For Christopher Rocchia, he will always be uncertain, we will see with training this afternoon. He trained with us all week. Roger Assalé trained normally, he applies. »
“Very disappointed, very frustrated with the week that has just passed with the sequence of matches. We aimed to do much better. Unfortunately we lacked realism and efficiency so still not digested. But then we had to relax, take refuge behind work because there is a match coming up tomorrow, which will be important, like all the matches we have left until the 38th day. »
“We play football for this kind of match, in this kind of stadium”
“I think we play football to give emotions to the fans, to play this kind of match, especially in these kind of stadiums. So if the stadium is full, good for the show. But we in any case, we are focused on our objectives and our qualities when we go there to recover the points that we have lost. »
2 comparable teams? “Yes, these are teams that were in L1 not that long ago. For Saint-Étienne a few months ago. But it’s a team that has really changed. When you see their workforce, the sums and the investment they have made, the players they have been able to attract… There are a lot of L1 players who have joined them, experienced players. So the team we will face there will be completely different from that of the first leg. I think on the pitch there will be only Krasso, even the goalkeeper has changed. They put in a lot of resources, it’s another game. But we prepared well to play this match with our weapons. »
A form of impotence? “We have to keep working, there are still a lot of points at stake. We have to take refuge behind the work, continue to stay focused. Since the resumption there was some improvement, there was a setback with this week at 3 games. It’s up to us to regain momentum, to go forward, to be stillre more dangerous offensively to be able to tip the trend. »
For Daf, it’s not the death match
A match for the survival of the club in L2? “There are 16 league games left. There are still more than 45 points to take, the championship is very long. It’s a championship that will be played until the last day, it’s going to be a marathon, it’s going to be long but we’re prepared for that. We are going to fight, each match we will give the maximum to take the points and achieve our objective. »
“This week with 3 games allowed teams to take a little lead. But as I repeat it happened 3 games in one week, there are 16 left, it’s a lot and a little at the same time. But it’s up to us to concentrate, to make even more effort and to get the points we’ve lost over the last week. »
“We must approach this championship with humility”
Saint-Étienne, really a competitor for maintenance? “Saint-Étienne was a team programmed to come back this year. It was not the case in any case at the start of the season. But behind them they put a lot of resources with XXL recruitment to be able to get out of the area. We see that it is always difficult, they are always in the zone from the beginning. That’s why you have to approach this championship always with a lot of humility. This is what we are doing, we will approach tomorrow’s match with a lot of determination, a lot of ambition but also a lot of humility. Because there will be a team that has really strengthened in front of us. But we are working with the group we have and we are going to find our objectives. »
New tactical tracks worked this week behind closed doors? “Yes, we worked to try to create other associations, other automatisms between the players to bring more uncertainty. We worked on it, now it’s up to the players to express themselves, let go and give it their all in each game. There are good things. In an encounter, the truth is always in both surfaces. This efficiency on both levels is what we are currently lacking. The slightest mistake is severely punished. We create situations where we lack accuracy on the last and the penultimate pass to be able to validate our highlights. You have to keep persevering and then you still have to do more. »
“We know that this is a team capable of scoring, which also concedes a lot of goals. It’s up to us to be very focused, very realistic. »
Also read: 🟨🟥 ASSE: 3 players and Batlles under threat before Dijon!
