“The situation is serious”

"The situation is serious. For a team aiming for a top-table finish, eight games without a win, it’s a serious problem”, Frédéric Antonetti recognized during the press conference on Monday, the day after the defeat in Valenciennes. Before the reception of Caen (16th in Ligue 1), not player was allowed to come and talk to the media, so they could “focus on their football” according to Pierre Dréossi. The club’s general manager, considering the last eight games, even pronounced the word “crisis”. “It all depends on what you call a crisis, the coach completed. There are different levels of crisis. At the moment, we have a crisis of results.”

"Brest has been a major blow"

Today, Stade Rennes remains in fifth position with 52 points. However, with four games left to play, Sochaux (49 points), Lorient (48 points) and Saint-Étienne (48 points) are coming back. It is now time to recover although the “content of the games is too poor”, according to Frédéric Antonetti. The manager hasn’t observed a demobilisation of his players: « they try their best, there is good will in general, but we lack solidarity.”

How to solve the problem? “We were able, through our defensive ability, to recover the ball and confiscate it from our opponent. These are things we lost. Everyone, in their own sector, should retrieve this ability, from the striker to the defenders.”

The team, according to him, started losing confidence at Francis-Le Blé, on April 9th (defeat 2-0). And never managed to recover. “We put ourselves in trouble all alone in Brest. This game was very, very hurtful to us. Brest has been a major blow. You may ask me: why so much waste afterwards? I don’t know. There are explanations but I won’t give them. It would be useless. »

"Men are thriving in the difficulty »

Rennes runs the risk to fail in the race for Europe, and even finish seventh or eighth. The sort of final position which would have convinced the manager not to extend his contract, before he committed for another two years in April. But, according to L’Équipe on Sunday, he gave his word to the Rennes management without signing the contract extension. Could he change his mind if the end of the season was a failure? “If we finish eighth, we will see at that moment. I don’t think I will have to take any initiative then.”

The Rennes manager wants to look at the long-term however, with inspirational words: “These moments are very difficult to live. It is on such crisis situations that you build something stronf. We can use those moments in order not to do the same mistakes. That’s where the solidity is measured. (…) Men thrive in the difficulties. Unfortunately, we are in the difficulties, and now we will see what we have in our guts.”

Nicolas Auffray - Le Mensuel de Rennes

- Photo: www.rennes.lemensuel.com