Since taking up the post of Patrice Garande last August 23, Dijon is part of the Top 5 with 15 points accumulated between the 6th and 13th day of League 2. Either as much as Toulouse or Auxerre over the same period. Like last year with the Violets, the technician, accompanied by his staff, manages to raise the bar at a club traumatized by a horrible season in Ligue 1 before him.
Mental work in the first place
Whether in Toulouse or today at DFCO, the first work established by Patrice Garande was to restore confidence to groups scarred by impressive losing streaks the previous season. Although the numbers are often turned upside down during the summer, these negative spirals still influence when the competition returns. Where David Linarès was not the right man to turn this page in Dijon, the new speech instilled by the former coach of Caen quickly found an echo.
“I will never let down a man who tries to help me and who is by my side to participate in my development. He helps me on all the points that I need to improve ”, thus entrusted to the Public Good a Alex Good which is becoming more and more important in the Burgundy workforce. « For a player, it is important to have a coach who pushes him behind. I’m trying to get him back on the pitch and at the moment it’s not too bad ”, added a Valentin Jacob back to its best.
Alex Dobre still decisive ????
Saturday, he was at the origin of the equalizer of Yassine Benzia ❗️
He then scored his second goal of the season ????#GF38DFCO pic.twitter.com/fvJBnCapcu
– Dijon FCO (@DFCO_Officiel) October 25, 2021
But the most striking example is undoubtedly that of Yassine Benzia, taken out of the cupboard by Garande and who has since relived. The former OL scored a fantastic goal in Grenoble, a double against Bastia, and becomes one of the driving players of the DFCO. ” The arrival of the coach has changed my opinion and a lot of things for me this season. He told me what he expected of me, he spoke to me clearly, he is counting on me. His speech made me happy. I needed this relationship of trust ”, he savored after his return to grace.
Of the requirement, and of the adaptation
Another striking characteristic of Patrice Garande’s management: the high standards and total transparency towards the performance of his players, even if it means jostling. No one is spared if he does not follow the guideline and the efforts imposed by the staff. Some examples with Mickaël Le Bihan, with 19 goals last year but struggling since the start of the season: “With the collective training, the sequence of the matches of the week, he will find the form little by little. He is not yet in optimal condition, he still has weight to lose, but we are getting there ”, he declared on September 18. Aurélien Scheidler, the club’s top scorer, can do more too. « He has to become an athlete and run. He scored in Caen but there must be less waste in the game. He is a generous boy but he has to do a lot better ”, specified the coach on September 23rd. In fact, Le Bihan and Scheidler are no longer associated because their profiles are judged as “not complementary”By Garande, who hatched a Dobre.
Tactically, the former technician from Malherbe and Toulouse adapts to the qualities of his group. For the Violets, the 3-5-2 had become immutable. Perhaps a bit too much at times, even if ultimately the failed climb will only have been played out in a few details. In Dijon, Garande has tested the ground to repeat the same pattern a few times and it is not the one that has given the most satisfaction. Finally, it is rather a 4-3-1-2 or a 4-4-2 which is now emerging, with a Benzia in free spirit behind an attacking duo. While Paris FC presents itself this Saturday (7 p.m.) at Gaston-Gérard, the opportunity is great for Dijon to confirm its progress against a candidate declared in the Top 5.
Photo credit: Frédéric Chambert / Panoramic / Imago.
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