Former pivot and captain of the France team, “Barjots era”, Philippe Gardent had so far only trained elite clubs. After Chambéry, PSG and Toulouse, he plunged back into amateur handball. A refreshing return to basics. Interview this Monday on France Bleu Gironde.
France Bleu Gironde: having the label of favorite is one thing, assuming it on the ground is another?
Philip Garden : It’s a great satisfaction to have done it so early, it allows us to plan for next season. The guys have worked very well throughout this season and to have achieved this goal is really a pleasure for us.
Will it give you a margin in terms of recruitment?
Yes and no. Yes compared to the other club which will go up in Proligue with us. And not because the other Proligue clubs have already started recruiting for a while. But we had already anticipated, launched a few alerts right and left, so we are in the timing and in the nails for next season.
‘We need reinforcements if we want to exist and avoid doing the lift. But the ambition is still there. We are going to be an ambitious promoter.
The idea is to keep the framework and bring added value?
Of course because we are moving up a division. We must strengthen ourselves and have a contribution of more experienced and sometimes more talented players. The main part of the group will be this year but it is clear that it will be reinforced.
Do you want to give yourself time?
We had the ambition to reach the Proligue from the first year and it is already a great achievement. We were the favorites but we made a judicious, clever recruitment. The goal is to perpetuate the sporting level but also the club. We are a young club, created a year ago with the support of Bruges and Lormont. We need to expand in terms of administrative and commercial structures. That leaves us a little time to think about all that.
– Maxppp
Is there a real level difference?
On the bottom of the table, I think there is not a big difference. On the other hand up there, it is important. That’s why we need reinforcements if we want to exist and avoid making the elevator. But the ambition is still there. We are going to be an ambitious promoter. We will have the priority objective of maintaining ourselves but if we can go scratch a little higher, we will not deprive ourselves of it, while keeping our humility.
Where are you going to be in terms of budget?
We will try to be within the median budget of the Proligue which means doubling the budget for this year. There is a big partnership search effort but the goal is to reach between 1.2 and 1.4 million euros to simply exist.
Professional and experienced coaches, we forget a little about this amateur world. It feels good to bathe in it again.
On a personal level, how did you experience this return to your sources?
I loved it. It’s been 25 years that I coached very good clubs in the first division. It was humanly very interesting. ? Already, the professional and experienced coaches, we forget a little this amateur world. It feels good to bathe in it again. I found things that had escaped me, especially on training. And then attending clubs like Lormont and Bruges, working with their leaders, it was a pleasure because we felt that they really wanted to move forward. I really liked this universe. Now, I also try to take them to the top because the goal is to become more professional, not to stay there, but it was a very nice experience which is not over by the way.
Does it have a refreshing side?
Completely. I flipped around quite a bit to the right and to the left. When you discover new things, it boosts, whatever the level. The human relationship does not only exist at the high level. The common desire to want to achieve something was very rewarding as far as I’m concerned.
We are extremely poor in terms of sports equipment. I have rarely seen a region so devastated in this area. If we want to progress, we will need a slightly larger work tool.
We will also have to find a room worthy of the name to grow?
Absolutely. It is clear that in New Aquitaine, in Gironde, we are extremely poor in terms of sports equipment. I have rarely seen a region so devastated in this area. If we want to progress, we will need a slightly larger work tool. We still have very interesting leads to be able to play in Bordeaux. This is a file that we have been working on for a few months and we are moving forward quite seriously.
We are talking about the Jean Dauguet room on the right bank of Bordeaux…
For example…
The project is resolutely metropolitan?
Paradoxically, New Aquitaine is the second league in France in number of licensees but with a multitude of small clubs of N1, N2, N3 which had difficulty getting along. Our mission was also to try to federate all this little world. There are the Girondins de Bordeaux who are close to us, there is Pessac, it’s starting to come and we would like to work together. The goal is to have an almost regional influence because this region needs a high-level hand club. We are on the right path.