The marathon continues for Amiens SC. After two matches canceled due to Covid, the club continues to meet to catch up on the schedule. After the defeat at home against Ajaccio and the victory at Guingamp last week, the Amiens continue with a third game in eight days in Quevilly-Rouen.
An unusual pace in Ligue 2, a challenge that coach Philippe Hinschberger approaches positively: “It changes a bit to play matches often like that. _It’s rather something that we like_. It saves us from doing weeks of training which are still a bit repetitive. Monday to Friday is always a bit long. It’s something that is more dynamic, which also forces us to anticipate a lot on the preparation of our matches so that we are not taken aback.“.
Manage match accumulation
With such a sequence, the time is more than ever for the management of the workforce for the coach, who does not complain: “We have no additional injuries, we have 22 outfield players in training, so plenty of time to make choices. There may be changes in the starting team. Afterwards, there is an accumulation which means that _to play 4 matches in 11 days, it’s still very, very complicated_. So there may be even caution on certain players so that we don’t go towards major injuries which can cause four, six or eight weeks of stoppage, because we will need everyone . I want to see what it looks like in terms of training. Frankly, I haven’t made up my mind yet between a team that performed well on Saturday, and then the need to put fresh blood“.
In the first leg, Quevilly-Rouen had outclassed the Amiens 3-1 at La Licorne. But for the coach, the dynamic is very different today: “They are on two away defeats with trips like Bastia and Dijon which are complicated to say the least. We, _we are on a very good dynamic in November_, December, and even January. Overall, we were also lucky at home to be able to be effective. When you’re not too good, victories make your heart feel better“.
Keeping a cool head after the victory against Guingamp
With players carried by their 3-0 victory on Saturday on the lawn of Guingamp, it is true very diminished. So young midfielder Owen Gene wants to keep a cool head: “We can say that it gives us a little more confidence: in the defenders because we didn’t concede a goal against Guingamp and in the attackers who were able to score three goals. We are in a good dynamic, in a good joy, and that will allow us to better approach this match. Corn _don’t relax and always stay focused_. We are focused for the match against QRM and after that, we will be focused on the Coupe de France. But we approach each game with determination and one after the other.“
A speech approved by the coach for whom the important thing remains the championship: “_We must not forget that today we only have 24 points_. We are not in deficit of points, but we are a little right at the limit. The Cup is a derivative, I would say. If you go to Nancy, if you get eliminated, you get eliminated by Nancy who released two Ligue 1 clubs, it will not be shameful. If you win, it will be great because you go to the quarter-finals. These are games in general that we approach with less pressure for results. In any case, at the start when you say when you go to Quevilly-Rouen, already if you don’t concede goals, you are 0-0, you take 1 point against a direct opponent, it’s not so bad. You can always think that way. In the Cup, you don’t have quite the same reasoning“.