The lights are green at the start of the season for SM Caen when they go to challenge a new candidate for the climb, Dijon, this Saturday evening. Stéphane Moulin’s men pocketed six points from the first six put into play without taking a single goal in Nîmes (0-1) and against Metz (1-0).
But the Caen coach is quite experienced and has enough memory not to ignite. After all, the season had even started even stronger last season (Victory Against Rodez (4-0) and at Niort (0-1)) before experiencing a more difficult continuation.
“I am extremely suspicious by nature, recalls Stéphane Moulin. Trust is always on a thread. It is not a question today of being afraid but be careful not to be too confident and not to fall into sufficiency or lack of humility. We are only two teams to have taken six pts. This can be watching us even if I found that the players were extremely happy to share the victory with the public but once we got into the locker room there was a lot of perspective on that.
We have six pts today because the energy, the state of mind, the solidarity work wonderfully but we could have two pts
That is to say that we are not fooled. I am very happy with what the team is doing but we are not fooled. I told the players. In Nîmes, it was played to a few seconds (winning goal from Godson Kyeremeh in the 92nd minute) and against Metz it was played a few centimeters (hits on the post of Georges Mikautadze). You have to be very lucid about all this. We have six pts today because the energy, the state of mind, the solidarity work wonderfully, but we could also have two pts. We didn’t steal them, we went to get them. It is the merit of the players but it remains very very fragile.”
Choices to be made in midfield
SM Caen has so far only recorded one package, that of the defender Emmanuel Ntim who has not yet played under his new colors.
“He has a little discomfort in the quadriceps, details his coach. There will be no risks taken, so it will be forfeited. Doesn’t sound mean but bad enough that he won’t play tomorrow (Saturday) all the same.”
Uncertainty also weighs on the participation of Quentin Daubin who suffers from a little discomfort in the ischio. Stéphane Moulin could therefore be led to replace him or even to establish him from the outset Caleb Zady Sery for the first time this season.
A rotation that can be important for the group and for the sake of recovery after playing Monday night against Metz.
We are not going to stay on something fixed. We must succeed in making everyone feel concerned. It’s good to be able to do it when everything is going well explains Stéphane Moulin before continuing: I have some hesitations. Caleb may or may not start. It may be Yoann Court or Bilal… I haven’t chosen yet but it’s important for those who play a little less to let them breathe a little, to feel a little concerned too. I have maybe two choices to make in the middle.”
The group to choose from: Anthony Mandréa, Yannis Clementia – Adolphe Teikeu, Ibrahim Cissé, Romain Thomas, Ali Abdi, Johann Obiang, Hugo Vandermersch, Lamine Sy – Quentin Daubin, Bilal Brahimi, Djibril Diani, Iyad Mohamed, Noé Lebreton, Yoann Court – Benjamin Jeannot, Caleb Zady Sery, Emmanuel Essende, Alexandre Mendy, Godson Kyeremeh.