Football: coach, game, players, transfer window… Nîmes Olympique sports director Sébastien Larcier takes stock at the break

Sébastien Larcier (47 years old): “We are all aware of our qualities and our problems”. Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Nîmes Olympique is a disappointing 13th in the National at the break. But the sports director Sébastien Larcier still believes in this squad.

This summer, in Midi Libre and elsewhere, there was enthusiasm and hope after a great end to the championship and a team that had kept its key players. Question: halfway through the season, was Midi Libre wrong? ?

You must be as capable as I am of giving your opinion: I think it's mixed. There is still enthusiasm because there are moments in matches where we say to ourselves: “ah yeah, there really is quality”. We are capable of having a stranglehold like National clubs rarely have. And a quarter of an hour later, we can completely lose the thread. Sometimes, I am a fan of what we produce, and then I take a blow because the expected result is not achieved. From enthusiasm, I move on to a reality that is hard to admit.

The National ranking

Media, staff, players… how to continue to believe in it ?

The media, I don't know. They are part of the game, we shouldn't worry about them. But I think that part of the success of this team is believing even more in our project. If we manage to last in a match, we must have success and points. We ask a lot from our players, in pressing, mastering the tempo, technical and collective production…

When you make thirty passes and it doesn't lead to a chance, or you don't score, I understand that the general public is not happy. But we must not deviate from that, because we recruited with that in mind. When I took Adil Hermach as coach, I told him: “To stay up, we need to have a project that lasts, with content and ideas”. Because otherwise, if you don't get results, you have nothing left. I'm sure it will pay off.

Adil Hermach, precisely, cannot find the solution to get the team off the ground. We have to ask you the question: is he still the right man for the job? ?

I have just finished the individual interviews with the squad. It appears that the training sessions are appreciated, as is the game proposed. What is important is to have the players' support, and for the moment, it is totally there. I also like what my staff offers: to live it on a daily basis, it is passionate, it is committed, it is thoughtful. So yes, we are all moving in the same direction.

In June, you told us that you wanted to build a squad to score 50 goals. Almost halfway through, you have the worst attack in the National with 10 goals, including 6 for Abdeldjelil (even if the last one was awarded to Parisian Diarra against his own goal, Editor's note)…

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Yes, I don't forget this objective, which allows you to be at the top of the table. We are far from it. We often started our matches well but we didn't score. And when you don't score, you expose yourself to penalties (4 conceded at the end of the match, Editor's note) or to injustice. We knew that we didn't have the means to pay for two 20-goal strikers, so we need to have 5-6 players capable of scoring between 3 and 7. The margin for improvement is there, and on set pieces. Because we have the opportunities, the situations, and a quality of play to maintain over time.

What we lack is that benchmark match that would unlock our confidence, a 3-0 or a 4-2, it doesn't matter, that it finally smiles on us. It's at the end of the ball that we pay the musicians. We have to be patient with Vincent (Marcel), who has talent and who can be a major player, with Issam (Bouaoune) who can have a great second half of the season…

What comes out of the interviews with the players ?

90% of them think like you, like me: we are on the right track, we will get there, because they work well, they work hard, there is fun, team life is good and peaceful… In fact, we have so many green lights that it cannot fail to tip in the right direction. They are also aware that we lack character, toughness, defensive cohesion when things are tough. What reassures me is that we are all fully aware of our qualities and our ills.

The winter transfer window is coming. Do you have any wishes, and can they be fulfilled? ?

First, the desire to find a way out for those who don't play, like Léon Delpech. After that, our recruit, it's okay and it should be Malek (Amara, Editor's note), not seen at all in the first part. Obviously, if I had money, I would strengthen myself offensively but for the moment, that's not the case. So, we're already going to concentrate on what needs to be improved in our team or put back in the saddle, like Abou (Ali Abdallah) who, I think, is getting a bit lost at the moment and must bring us more. I believe in this squad.

But to ensure a comfortable survival first, we have to score goals… It would be a shame not to achieve this and to waste a squad with so much quality. For the National, we have very good ball players. We know that we are not top 3 but in relation to what we are capable of producing, we must be between 4th and 7th place. For me, it is still possible. We haven't finished the first part…

Engagements, Christmas, friendly match and leader

PROGRAM After the club's Christmas tree and four collective sessions, from Monday to Thursday (with a superb hat-trick from Bouaoune during the opposition on Wednesday morning), the Crocos are on vacation for a short week. They will resume on Friday, December 27 at La Bastide, where they will meet up with their teammate Ali Abdallah who has gone to get engaged in Reunion, and will train over the weekend.

They will be off on January 1st before playing a friendly match on Saturday 4th, at 2:30 p.m. at Antonins (behind closed doors) against Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël (5th in N2). For the resumption of the championship, the Nîmois will welcome the leader Nancy, Friday 10 (7:30 p.m.).

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