This Tuesday, Nicolas Usaï, 47, gave his first ambitions to journalists. Enthusiastic to arrive in a club which arouses a lot of passion, he first wishes to find communion with the supporters: “Come to the stadium and sing! I only want to join the Costières as I knew him as an opponent. The idea is to unite at the level of the technical staff, of the group, the players, the supporters and the leaders. “
The native of Marseille also motivates his visit by this fervor: “At the beginning of the year if I had been asked which club I would have liked to evolve in, very quickly I would have said Nîmes Olympique because I am a southerner and I know what the club represents. […] We often compare the Costières to an arena, that makes you want to “. He also explains having sought the advice of former Nîmes, such as striker Umut Bozok, whom he knew as a coach of Marseille Consolat.
A coach obsessed with maintaining
Nicolas Usaï remains pragmatic and aims first of all for maintenance. He knows that the club is in a complicated sporting situation: after 19 days, Nîmes Olympique is 12th in Ligue 2 with only three points ahead of the barrage. “The first thing is to think about the 42 point mark. And it’s not just thinking about it, it must be a daily obsession. Talking about anything other than catching the posture would be dreaming.”, explains the new coach.
– Paul Le Guen
To achieve this goal, he intends to rely on the current staff but hopes to obtain new players during the winter transfer window which has been open since January 1. “We discussed it, there may be adjustments to be made and there may be players who will leave the club as well. We have to be quick and responsive, we can’t do just anything, but obviously I would be happy to have some fresh blood“, details the new coach.
First test this Saturday in Dijon
First challenge for Nicolas Usaï at the 13th in Ligue 2, Dijon, this Saturday at 7 p.m. But the coach does not put too much pressure on his players for the first match under his orders: “The idea is to go crescendo. It may seem paradoxical because games come quickly but it’s exciting, there are a lot of things I have to focus on.”
A meeting to follow live on France Bleu Gard Lozère with Romain Collet-Gaudin and our partner Objectif Gard.