It seems a long time ago when the DFCO was called “PSG of the Ligue2” – and for this formula, it is surely better that way. It seems a long time ago when the DFCO showed the objective of finishing in the first eight of the classification. On the eve of the 27th day of Ligue 2 and the reception of Caen, Saturday March 5, 2022, the “Reds” are 13th in the standings – with only one appearance in the Top 10 this season. Above all, with the series of four games without a win (three losses and a draw) the relegation zone is approaching : only three points separate the DFCO from Dunkirk, 18th. What to look down, for the moment without urgency or panic.
The maintenance, “I do not use this word in front of the players”
At the beginning of January, after a home defeat against Nîmes described as “distressing” by Patrice Garande, several players had mentioned the need to play maintenance before aiming higher. What had caused the annoyance of President Olivier Delcourt on France Bleu Bourgogne: “No, we must not be resigned (…) we have to fight, that’s all. With the descent, there is a transition, but it does not prevent us from being competitors. I look upwards towards move up the rankings“. Almost two months later, by force of circumstances – and the ranking – the tone has changed a bit.
The word “maintenance” is still voluntarily banned from the vocabulary of Patrice Garande. “I don’t use that word. I can’t coach a team that has no ambition. This club can’t have the ambition to maintain itself. I refuse to talk about that, we have to be much more high. Afterwards, there is reality, but I do not use this word in front of the players”, he says straight away. The word remains taboo, but not the concept of maintenance.
An accounting reality
Long swept away with the back of the hand, accounting pragmatism takes over. “This classification, you win twice in a row, you gain three or four places, that’s why I don’t attach importance to it. Except that here… I have to look at reality: we have three points ahead of an area that is not very comfortable”admits Patrice Garande, who will return to SM Caen this weekend, which he trained between 2012 and 2018.
Same speech with his attacker, Aurélien Scheidlerwho can reach the bar of 10 goals in L2 if he scores against the Normans. “It’s not a word we use, but we know very well that we will have to go through the maintenance, that we are sheltered as quickly as possible and then go and look for places the as high as possible”, recognizes Dijon’s top scorer, who hasn’t scored in the last three games. The Dijon attack will also be deprived of its second best scorer, Alex Dobre, injured in a duel in training on the eve of the match.
“On this match, at the limit, I don’t care if we play well or not, all I want is to win”
We are 12 days from the end of the season, and time is running out. “I think the players have become aware of the urgency of the situation. Three points ahead of the first relegation player, you have to take points. When I say urgency, be careful, we are not in a crisis situation. But now you have to take points, hammers Patrice Garande, who will pay little attention to the way. “In this match, ultimately, I don’t care if we play well or not, all I want is to win the match. And the players want it too, that’s what they told me and they prepared accordingly.”
The possible composition
Reynet – Fofana, Congré, Coulibaly, Traoré – Deaux (or Pi), Younoussa – Sammaritano, Le Bihan, Philippoteaux – Scheidler
- DFCO – Caen, match to live in full on France Bleu Bourgogne! Pre-match from 6:45 p.m., kick-off of the integral at 7 p.m., on the radio or on the France Bleu app !