Reinvigorating the Monaco attack
“I know that we’ve been lacking in efficiency recently in the league and the Europa League. We’re obviously not happy with the statistics but we need to stay positive despite everything. During the international break, Wissam (Ben Yedder) and Kevin (Volland) weren’t with us but the rest of the group worked hard on our attacking play. Sometimes in football it’s quite simple, you just need things to click. If you force the issue and push your opponents into making mistakes, it’s much easier to get back on the right track and score some goals. That’s what we’re going to show in the next few games.”
The clash with Lille
“What I know is that the players like being involved in the big games, against PSG and direct rivals for the European places. Motivation is tenfold in this situation, although we know that we have to be able to repeat that level of performance and raise our standards in every game. We are in a similar position to Lille at the moment. This will be a difficult match for both teams. But once again, I want to stay positive and I think my players are on the same wavelength.”
Return of the internationals
“We had a good training session with the group this morning. The French internationals came back later and had a lighter session, focusing on recovery. They’ve all come back in good shape, without any physical problems, which is positive. After France and Serbia’s qualification for the World Cup, as well as good results for the Under 21s and Germany, they’ve come back in good spirits and with a certain mental freshness. We know that Benoît (Badiashile) and Golo (Aleksandr Golovin) are suspended this weekend, so we’ll have to adapt. Tomorrow we’ll have all the players available for the first time in two weeks, so we’ll be able to work together well. We’ll try to find the best solutions.”
Ligue 1’s true level
“Everyone knows that Ligue 1 is one of the big five European leagues and that it’s of a very good standard. But I honestly think it’s a really underrated league, even though it loses a lot of very good players, its best talents, every year. It manages to bounce back from that every season. There are lots of really good players, it’s physically tough in terms of commitment because you always have to be at 100%. In Ligue 1, if you’re not ready to fight as well as play the right way, it’s difficult to get results. For me, it’s a really good league, that’s for sure. Incidentally, German coaches often ask me about it because it’s a league they look up to. If France could keep its best talents every year, Ligue 1 could be the second best league in the world, not the fifth.”
The progress of new recruits
“All of the young players who joined us in the summer, whether it’s Ismail (Jakobs), Jean (Lucas) or Myron (Boadu), are talented players who have signed for a new team in a new situation. I think we need to give them time to work, progress and gain confidence. We have to let them acclimatise and improve physically. It’s not easy when you’ve got players in front of you of the quality of Kevin and Wissam, who himself has Kylian Mbappé and Karim Benzema ahead of him in the national team. Myron, like everyone else, needs minutes and to score goals. You have to work hard for that and we’re helping him to feel as good as he can and to show his qualities.”
Different attacking options
“As I’ve already said, last season we had one match a week and this season we’re playing every three days. If a player is tired, he can’t perform on the pitch and the risk of injury increases. We need to find the right balance with Wissam and Kevin in particular. So we obviously have to rotate the players up front, which is why we’re trying out different combinations. Having the whole squad under the pressure that it’s under, and not just the starting 11, pushes everyone to improve and means they can’t just get by on talent alone. The competition for places makes you up your game and your performances. Like the second half of last season, I hope we’ll quickly be able to start showing all our qualities.”
Struggles before the break
“Sometimes you have spells when things don’t work out the way you want them to. We didn’t score in our last three matches so we have to work really hard in training to put that right. Sometimes going away with the national team is a good thing, you come back mentally fresher. As a striker, you want to score in every game but the most important thing is for the team to win. Our opponents know that we’re a dangerous team and they keep things a bit tighter than last season. We have to play as a team, which was our main strength last season, and if we can do that then I’m sure we’ll get back on track.”
Hosting Lille
“The game against Lille is really important for us. We’re six points off (Lens in) second so if we win it could be a good opportunity to close the gap, we could gain more confidence and it would turn our form around.”
Ligue 1
“Ligue 1 is underrated because everyone can beat one another. You never know how a game is going to pan out, it’s mentally tough because you always need to be at 100%. There are some really strong teams, you have to stay focused even when you’re leading, the tempo is very fast and there are a lot of individual battles. We need to fight in order to improve as we have the quality to finish near the top of the table.”
Alexander Nübel’s progress
“It’s never easy to come to a new team in a new country but I try to help him both on and off the pitch. He’s in really good form, everyone can see that. If he can stay at the level he is at now and works hard, I’m sure he could play for the national team one day.”
The German national team
“Last season was a good one for Monaco and that’s the reason I went to the Euros. So if we play well, I’ll have a chance to earn a place in the squad for the World Cup. But there’s still a long way to go. If we’re able to improve and I have a good season on a personal level, then anything is possible. That’s my goal, in any case.”
Gourvennec on Jonathan David’s fitness
“Jona (Jonathan David) took a blow to the eye which is why he came on and then went off again. We’ve got some good news, he’ll be back with us tomorrow (Thursday) and as we’re travelling late tomorrow, we’ll make a decision on him before we get on the plane.”
Gourvennec on this season’s struggles
“It’s true that we’ve struggled after the last two international breaks. We have to make absolutely sure that we’re more prepared for Monaco, in better harmony and more focused on our goals for the game.”
“We’re off the pace at the moment because we’ve dropped points. But that’s also the case for Monaco and Lyon, who are just ahead of us. I’m talking about clubs who obviously have the ambition to be right at the top of the table, like Lille. We have six matches before Christmas to close the gap, we can’t afford to slip up along the way, that’s clear. We know what we need do and that we need to be more efficient both in defence and attack. Making the most of our squad is going to be crucial up until Christmas as we’ve got nine games – six in the league, two in the Champions League plus the first round of the Coupe de France. We need to improve in these nine matches.”
André on Lille’s lack of efficiency
“If you watch a lot of matches back, against Angers for example, if we’d got the second goal then that would’ve finished the game off. Everyone speaks about the derby, in which Lens played really well. They did but I think we had the best chances of the game overall and they converted one of the few opportunities they had. A lot of matches have been a bit like that. It’s mostly a question of efficiency, which we showed last season, both in attack and in defence. This year, that’s been a bit less in our favour but we need to keep going to ensure we put that right.”
“We’re under scrutiny in every game but we’ll see come the end of the season. The season is very long, this is an important match, we all know that. Monaco are a really good team with some great players. But we’re going there to try to pick up points because we really need them at the moment.”