Le Lay : “Our intention is to keep the squad as it is”
Invited by French radio RMC this Wednesday afternoon, Patrick Le Lay shared his views on Stade Rennes’ objectives for the remainder of the season, as well as on the respective futures of the team and its manager. The Breton club’s president reaffirmed his determination to reach a European position and keep the current squad in Rennes in view of next season.
The Objectives
«I’m trying to remain realistic. We would not refuse the first position. It’s not our goal, it isn’t this year’s strategy”, Le Lay points, preferring a more reasonable target: “To qualify for Europe”, and “it is more likely to be in the Europa League than in the Champions League”.
Le Lay, the football and the Stade Rennais
«Football is trickier » than television, Le Lay guarantees. “You are carrying the team of a city, of a region, and if it doesn’t work it is very disappointing for the fans”.
«If I had been proposed the presidency in any other club than Rennes, I would have refused”, affirms the man who had, back in the 90s, advised François Pinault against entering the football world. “François Pinault felt he had to do it for his city”.
«The Stade Rennais is my club. When I was a kid, I used to go to the stadium. I’ve always lived following the club’s results and I spent fifteen years of my life going to every game with my father. When you are here, you feel responsible, you want to help the team win. And then, the pressure is really strong.»
«When I arrived in Rennes, the transfer window had already started, I could not imagine myself telling Pinault : « Give me 30 or 40 million and you will see what I can do”.
The current squad and the transfer market
Le Lay’s wish his to keep the current squad for the next season to come. “Most of our players have got contracts for 3 or 4 years. This is an element of stability. Our intention is to keep the team as it is. If we can avoid departures, there will be no departures. I will follow this policy as much as possible.” To keep the highly coveted Yann M’Vila is therefore “[his] dearest wish, one of our dearest wishes”.”M’Vila is young, he has time to spend with us, and I think he will stay with us.”
Questioned on the winter transfer window, and the very likely arrival of Belgian striker Christian Benteke, the Stade Rennes president affirmed that it “isn’t done at the moment. It’s being discussed. I read L’Équipe just as you do».
«The winter mercato isn’t a very rich transfer market. If you know of a good centre-forward, let me know, they are hard to find. The main quality of our squad at the moment is its good understanding. The atmosphere is good, the balance is good and this is very important. We need to build on these elements.”
« If we qualify for Europe, we will invest, but not any old random way, since we also have a salary grid. We will have to hold a policy of middle-term investment. This is a consolidation policy. We do it the “Breton way”. We are all Breton peasants. We don’t work a lot, but we work all the time. »
The Marveaux situation
Free of any contracta t the end of the season, Sylvain Marveaux should leave the Stade Rennais without any transfer fee. “He had a contract to sign, he didn’t sign it. You can’t force someone to sign a contract. We shall see. Last summer, he didn’t leave because there was no offer. »
Was Marveaux’ situation poorly dealt with, along with Moussa Sow’s, who left for Lille without earning Rennes any transfer fee? “It would be too easy to say the situation wasn’t dealt with properly. There will be more like them. They are men, they are free to decide about their future. You can’t prevent anyone from leaving.”
Antonetti’s future
The Stade Rennais would like to continue its collaboration with Frédéric Antonetti. «The way he stimulates his men at half time, he knows how to say the things they need to hear. He has a real language, simple and structured. He really is a man people listen to”.”The three of us are completing each other rather well”, Patrick Le Lay adds, about his relationship with Pierre Dréossi and Frédéric Antonetti.
Stade Rennes, the team of Brittany ?
«Stade Rennes is a very old team. No team can be considered as Brittany’s team; simply, Rennes has been there longer than Brest, Lorient, Guingamp or even Nantes. The age is important. It is great to have derbies that attract the spectators. It brings excitement to Brittany. Rennes has always carried the image of Brittany’s administrative capital, but no team can pretend to become Brittany’s team ».
So would it be possible to imagine a team entirely composed with Breton players? “I am not sure that we could qualify for Europe if one of our criterions had been to recruit only Breton players. I don’t think so. It would not work, and it isn’t our objective. One of the qualities of a good manager is to give homogeneity to a group of players from different cultures. »
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