Mohed Altrad, what state of mind are you in the day after this new MHR defeat against LOU?
If you want to know if I’m going to let go of the club, no. We have problems but the players and staff are working hard. It’s a curse. In the last five or six games, we’ve lost a few points. This was again the case on Saturday. We are not very far but that does not smile on us. You are going to tell me that we are second to last, I grant you. We are full of humility. We are facing a difficult situation.
What did you say to the group after the game?
I went to see the players to say that I had seen beautiful things. As I said, we really narrowly lost our last matches. It was a bit of a coin toss and the coin fell on the wrong side. I told them, ‘go and find resources deep within yourself. I support you. I have seen beautiful things with positive aspects. ‘ We know that nobody will help you to get us up, even the referees. In life, when you are weak like us today since we cannot win, we will not help you, but we will help the strong. I am attached to the club, the players too.
How do you plan to get by?
There is no miracle in life: you have to work. And that’s what we do. We stabilized our fundamentals, touch and scrum. When Garbajosa was there, it wasn’t that. We manage to make mauls now. We had lost some certainties and now we have to find them quietly.
Are you worried about the future of the club?
We played our fourteenth game of the season yesterday but there is still a lot left. We are of course realistic. Our place is not in the six, it is final. We will fight to leave this thirteenth place, we are only one point behind Bayonne. It’s a badly classified championship and we have to win it to avoid this thirteenth place. We fight for maintenance, period.
Was the replacement of Xavier Garbajosa by Philippe Saint-André really necessary?
I don’t want to dwell on the subject, but yes it had to be. I do not regret this decision.
Are you actively working on the arrival of a new coach for next season?
Philippe (Saint-André) was clear, he did not come to Montpellier to be a ‘head coach’ but to be director of rugby. I’m only at the club on match days. You know the professional context and you know that I am very busy. I’m not Laurent Marti (president of the UBB) who is there all the time, or Didier Lacroix (president of Toulouse) or the others who do just that. This may also be part of the problem. The idea is that Philippe also fulfills part of this role. He was not originally intended to become head coach but the situation has changed things. Philippe accepted the job on condition that he quit at the end of the season.
Many names are circulating including that of Michael Cheika …
(Laughter) I get calls from all over the world from very high level people. Cheika is one of them. Jake White is another, as are Rassie (Erasmus) and Stuart Lancaster. The job interests a lot of people. They contacted us directly or indirectly, but there are others. For the moment, we are watching and Philippe will end the season.
In recent days, Saint-André has made strong choices by dismissing several executives including Louis Picamoles and Bismarck du Plessis. What do you think?
We analyzed the forces involved and we said to ourselves that to win, we really needed a commando team. Some come back from injury, like Picamoles. Others haven’t played for a long time or are out of shape. Let’s go with the fittest people. But the door is not closed to others. If Picamoles is back in shape, he’s training and he’s ready to play, we need him. This is valid for Bismarck du Plessis and others. Under the current conditions, it may be necessary to work with a tight group but yesterday Fulgence Ouedraogo and Benoît Paillaugue were injured. We need everyone. We don’t rule out anyone, but people have to make an effort. Players should not be a problem but a solution.
For next season, have you made a decision about the future of Louis Picamoles who is at the end of his contract?
We know the players and they know the club. But, put yourself in my shoes, you will obviously extend a player if it’s the one you need for the club. But if you have any doubts, you ask yourself questions. We tell all these players at the end of the contract, including Picamoles, that they have to show us something. If you want to change jobs, you will write your CV and highlight your merits. For these players, we know their CVs. It’s up to them to show that they deserve to have their contracts extended.
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