“We should not stop at this point!”
After the superb victory in Lyon, Stade Rennais host newly promoted Évian-Thonon this Saturday. Used to give a hard time to the big teams, Jirès Kembo and the Bretons now want to find the way to beat smaller sides and remain at the top of Ligue 1.
Immediately after the victory in Gerland, Frédéric Antonetti warned his players. “I told them this should not feel like a climax, but rather like a starting point, that they all need to realise what they are able to manage.”
Since a few seasons, the Rouge et Noir are indeed used to shine against the big guns and struggle against the smaller sides. Jirès Kembo admits it, and he has an explanation for it: “the big teams play to win, the game is open and it is easier for us to express ourselves. The struggling teams come to try and avoid defeat, it becomes more difficult since the game is all in our hands. After the victory in Lyon, the next game is as important”, the best Rennes goal scorer in Ligue 1 adds. “All the players are aware of this, we should not stop at this point!”
Focused in training
In the press conference before the game against Évian-Thonon, promoted and twelfth in Ligue 1, Jirès Kembo and Frédéric Antonetti have made the same assessment: the squad seemed focused in training. “We had a solid training week before Lyon and we went on”, the manager observed. “The atmosphere is good”, Jirès Kembo added. « This week, we worked well, we played quite a lot and I could see the lads were all switched on, everyone wants to play and do well. »
Avoid « overconfidence »
Stade Rennes is well installed in fourth place, five points behind the top two teams, Paris and Montpellier. But the Bretons are not performing as well at home (10 points taken out of a possible 18) as they do on the road (15 out of 24). “We need to be able to score the second goal and hold a result”, Frédéric Antonetti requests. As he has been doing for weeks, he also warns his players: “there is confidence, but we should avoid overconfidence. It is really fragile. There is a balance between a loss and an excess of confidence. To be confident is about daring, go for it, but is also requires for the players to put themselves in question.”
Nicolas Auffray - Le Mensuel de Rennes
- Photo : www.rennes.lemensuel.com