Jean-Louis Gasset: «This is the beginning of something»
After the two victories earned by the team at the beginning of the year before facing Metz (tomorrow at 7 p.m.), the Verts’ coach hopes to see his team perform well and to be more relaxed while playing.
What do you expect the arrival of Yann M’Vila will do for ASSE?
I’m obviously very happy that he’s here with us. Now, we’re going to have to bring him to his peak level of physical performance. I’m very happy for the team because he’ll help us with his excellent capacity to pass the ball and his confidence with the ball. Playing every three days makes us reflect on the way to bring him to his peak physical condition. We have to establish a strategy for him. The idea anyway is that he be with us for the match tomorrow. Did I convince him to sign here? I’m frank with the players, I tell them what I think. I’m here on a mission. This has been the case for the last two months. I give them the possibility to play and they, in return, help me to fulfill my mission.
With two victories under your belt after as many matches since the beginning of the year, the team is starting things off on the right foot.
It’s the beginning of something. The return of Loïc, Jessy’s big match... There are things to be happy about even if we’re far from performing how we would like to perform. Only good results will help us to move past this tension. We’re not relaxed enough yet in order to enjoy playing. We’re still worried that the slightest thing will cause us to drop in the rankings once again. It makes sense. Toulouse had the ball, Jessy kept us at 0-0. By scoring the first goal, we made our fans believe again. We have to earn back their trust.
Is the arrival of new players meant to create healthy competition among the players?
If you have two good players who play the same position...That’s definitely the case for our goalies. In this line of work, in order to surpass what you think you are capable of, you have to feel that if you stop working hard you’ll be replaced. The team suffers due to the frequent matches at the beginning of the year. We’re playing tomorrow, I feel like we were just on the field three hours ago! Competition is important! If we stop working hard...
How do you feel about FC Metz, the last-placed team in the championship?
We’ll need to perform just as we did Sunday, especially against a team that is obliged to win if they want to have the slightest chance of remaining in Ligue 1. They have a positive dynamic and are on a 5-game unbeaten streak between the championship and the Coupe de France. I find that they play well even if they only have 12 points with 18 matches to go. They believe in themselves. It will be a difficult match.
