Eirik Horneland: "A need for consistency"

Injury Update

Ibrahima Wadji, Thomas Monconduit, and Ayman Aiki are ruled out. Aïmen Moueffek is also unlikely to travel, as he has been unwell this week. (…) The last match was intense for Augustine Boakye, who did a lot of sprinting. We managed his workload this week, particularly today, so he can be in good shape for this match against Paris. (…) We need to strike the right balance between workload and our need to progress by pushing further in our efforts. Ligue 1 McDonald’s demands more—more speed, more intensity. You have to give a lot on the pitch to match certain teams' levels. That increases the risk of injuries, but we’re doing everything we can to minimize them.

After Reims

Against Reims, I take away our first 30 minutes. We were good, aggressive, and able to win the ball back quickly. We played at the level we need to be at. If we can maintain that level for an entire match, it will be a great step forward because against Reims, we saw our quality decline as the match went on. We need consistency over the full 90 minutes.

Positive Attitudes

I was very pleased with my players' performance against Reims because we had only a few days to prepare. I saw excellent attitudes, an organization that aligns with what we want to see and had worked on. We want to keep moving in this direction so the team can improve day by day and gain confidence week by week.

Facing the Parisian Leader

Playing against Paris is, of course, challenging. But we want to approach the game with the same intensity and style. We have a lot of respect for this opponent, but we’re not intimidated. We want to use this match to continue developing our team. Paris plays high with intensity and top-tier technical and tactical quality. We will suffer at times, of course, but it’s a good match to continue our progress.

Djylian N’Guessan and Stéphanois Youth Development

Djylian (N’Guessan) is an exceptional player for whom football comes naturally—his ball control and finishing in front of goal are great examples. He’s a humble guy, but in the last six meters, he’s ruthless (smiles). I enjoy watching him play; he gives me confidence. He’s a player I hold in high regard! I’m delighted to see young talents from the academy training with us. It’s clear that the academy is doing a great job and taking the right steps to bring players to the first team. That’s important because youth development has a vital role in the club’s project.