Dréossi : A “new medical organisation”
This Monday evening, Pierre Dréossi was invited on RMC. The Rennes general manager notably discussed the current transfer window and the cascade of injuries last season. Chosen bits.
Jérémy Morel’s aborted transfer
Having agreed on terms with Stade Rennes, left back Jérémy Morel changed his mind at the last minute to eventually join Marseille. Pierre Dréossi was naturally annoyed at the outcome of the case, and criticised the attitude of the former Lorient man. “Everybody had agreed, Dréossi reminded. Him, Lorient, us. Since he was in the United States, we couldn’t sign a contract during 48h. Logically, we thought an agreement was an agreement. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough. That’s the way it is sometimes. It’s life ».
The rest of the transfer window
The club’s policy will remain the same, with priority given to recruiting a specialist at the left back position and “one or two attacking players, one on a side and a striker” who will be recruited without the need for a player to leave the squad. As for the origin of these players, it doesn’t have to be Ligue 1. “if we want to manage really clever recruitments, we need to find players who haven’t reached their full potential yet and are not too famous at the moment, Dréossi explained, in words very reminiscent of his speech during the winter transfer window. In Ligue 1, we know them all, so they could also come from foreign leagues”.
Complete uncertainty remains regarding the name of the players who could arrive in Brittany. As far as the left back is concerned, Pierre Dréossi has denied the rumours linking Rennes to Badr El Kaddouri (“I don’t think it will happen”) and Gaëtan Bong (“I don’t think that the full back who will arrive was playing in the French league last season”).
In attack, no more precisions. Mentioned on Monday morning, the name of Mevlüt Erding remains surrounded with “much uncertainty”, regarding Paris’ willingness to let him go, his salary or his desire to come to Rennes.
The situation of Apam
Seen with his team-mates at the first training session on Monday, the Nigerian defender his still not sure to return to competitive football in a near future. Another period of rehabilitation is on schedule for him from the next few days, in the south of France, and should prove decisive towards his future in Rennes. “He has got a cartilage problem, Dréossi hinted. Now, he will return to Saint- Raphaël for two or three weeks and then we should know more. If it doesn’t get better in three weeks, he will be – and so will we – in big trouble”.
Injuries : the situation must be improved
Pierre Dréossi explained the detail of the various decisions taken in order to avoid a series of injuries comparable to the one experienced last season. “We tried to analyse all the causes, to solve the issue of the athletic preparation, the general manager explained. We will solve the medical issues in the recovery and fitness, in order to improve. We had another meeting this afternoon with the medical staff to try and set up a new organisation, because, indeed, we can’t simply say +we were unlucky+”
This season, with “A slightly bigger squad, a slightly different preparation, a slightly more important individualisation of the work and the installation of quite a few innovation on the medical level”, the Stade Rennes coaching staff are hoping to avoid the difficulties experiences in 2010-2011.