Jean-Louis Gasset: «I wanted to bring in some fresh blood...»
If the Verts gave way from the onset, Jean-Louis Gasset takes his responsibility for the part he played in AS Saint-Etienne’s first defeat this year.
How do you explain this devastating defeat at the hands of FC Metz?
It’s difficult...We began the year well by qualifying in the Coupe and by winning a difficult match against Toulouse and tonight we lost 3-0...that’s upsetting. The team didn’t play with the spirit that they should have.
What was your team lacking tonight?
I made a grave error concerning this match. Since we play matches every three days, I wanted to bring in some new blood, thinking that would help us to maintain our dynamic, but I was wrong. I tried to reflect on the best way to avoid injuries. But I reflected very poorly. Sometimes, you have good ideas and make good changes. Today, concerning the starting line-up, I was very wrong. I thought I could change the line-up without weakening the team. But, without our main players, Saint-Etienne lacked the character and the spirit that the team should have. Because of that, we performed poorly. When the matches take place less frequently, I’ll ask myself less questions. There were 5 matches in 14 days. And I know that the players missing game time can’t play every match. Unfortunately, I was wrong..
How can the team bounce back after this defeat?
When I arrived, team morale was low and tomorrow morning, in the locker room, it’ll be low once again, but life goes on. We knew that this year would be difficult. We’ll just have to get back to work and be stronger mentally. We offered our adversary openings to score and, worse still, we gave up mentally too quickly. We knew that we would need a lot of time in order to put everyone back on the right path. We’re going to move past this match quickly because we can’t take anything positive from it. The team conceded two goals in 15 minutes, for the other team it was like taking candy from a baby. But, the principal reason for this defeat, is me. I was wrong in regards of the team’s line-up. I thought I could bring some fresh blood into our busy schedule.
What do you think of Yann M’Vila’s performance?
For his first match, it was my idea to have him play tonight. He rarely lost the ball, I think he’s on the right path, which is one of the few positive aspects of tonight’s match.
