“David Guion Eyes Rare Achievement of Second Ligue 1 Promotion in Two Seasons as Bordeaux Coach”

David Guion has five games left to become the 15th manager in the history of the French championships to obtain more than one Ligue 1 promotion, with the 12 having managed two climbs behind the untouchable Jean-Marc Furlan (5) and former Lorient Christian Gourcuff (3). Achieving this twice in as many seasons on a Ligue 2 bench is rarer – Christophe Pélissier and Frédéric Hantz complete the circle – and the current Girondins coach can be proud of being the technician …

David Guion has five games left to become the 15th manager in the history of the French championships to obtain more than one Ligue 1 promotion, with the 12 having managed two climbs behind the untouchable Jean-Marc Furlan (5) and former Lorient Christian Gourcuff (3). Achieving this twice in as many seasons on a Ligue 2 bench is rarer – Christophe Pélissier and Frédéric Hantz complete the circle – and the current Girondins coach can be proud of being the technician who has played for at least a year. on a bench to count the best average of points (2.11 per game) at this level.

Another statistic will affect the Girondins supporters more, who remain on 5 successes in 6 games: in the spring of 2018 with Reims, the technician had finished with a bang with 8 victories in the last 10 days, the two hitches arriving while the title and the mounted were sealed. “I was reminded of the number. I would sign right away, ”smiled Manceau on Thursday. It would mean that his players have won four of their last five meetings, with most likely the ticket to the elite at the same time.

A coincidence, these finals with a bang? It would be an offense to the planning and management dear to coaches. “The idea was to be placed before the last ten days. You can never be sure, but that’s what happened. I had asked for a little patience because we were late (by the late integration of recruits, editor’s note), I saw my team progress. Through training and work, I suspected that we would be performing well at the end of the season”, points out David Guion, who always emphasized “staying the course” when the boat rocked at the start of the year.

communicative calm

If the coach has been chasing comparisons since the start of the season, there are similarities with Reims: a team recovered as a firefighter at the end of the previous season, a position quickly renewed, the choice of his staff and a workforce between experienced backbones (Abdelhamid, Kamara , Da Cruz, Chavalerin, Chavarria…) and promising young people (Edouard Mendy, Disasi, Rigonato, Oudin, Cafaro, Siebatcheu, Kyiei). The Rémois had taken 1st place on the 9th day and never let go. Second in the outward phase and now leaders in the return phase, the Bordelais have not left the podium since September and have been in second place for eight days.

“He didn’t spend his time harping: ‘we have to go up’ but set mini-objectives”

“A key, I think, is that David Guion didn’t spend his time harping on ‘we have to go up’ and adding pressure. He targeted objectives on the game that was coming, on our progress. Suddenly, when there was a defeat, we were disappointed, but not defeated. We looked at whether we had reached our mini-objective and we moved on to the next one, ”explains the Reims captain at the time Danilson Da Cruz.

The middle points to the “freshness” with which the group had attacked the home stretch. “David delegated the physical preparation to Laurent Bessière (poached last November by Nice to Lens, editor’s note) who had done a great job. We also worked with a mental trainer. And his ability to keep calm gives serenity. He manages to have silence and to get his message across without shouting. It facilitates dialogue, when going to extreme reactions generates conflicts that can wear out over time. »

“It’s up to them to take ownership”

Since the start of the home stretch, the Girondins coach has been pressing those concerned on the need to keep this calm, which he was sometimes criticized for in his mission as a firefighter last year. “With the staff, I try to transmit this value to them”, says David Guion who does not hesitate, at the end of his collective speeches of contextualization, to challenge these players on other subjects to ventilate the spirits.

“The spirit of competition is decisive at the end of the season, but you also have to be very focused and mental freshness is important, continues the coach. During the season, I did everything: ambitious speeches, vigilance, in front of their responsibility. Now I have almost nothing more to say: they know what’s at stake and it’s up to them to take ownership of these last five games. I have confidence, we feel a unity, that they are centered. “ Danilson Da Cruz does not say anything else when he remembers Reims: “We were very independent. Even in training, everyone wanted to win. Each time we achieved a goal, we set another. »