Coach Jérôme Bonnet knows it well, his players have no room for maneuver against Reims. “Mathematically if we have a result other than a win or a draw, we will automatically be in D2 next year.” Especially since the Vertes do not allow themselves to bet on possible underperformance from their competitors in maintenance, Soyaux and Issy. “If we are there, it is our fault, they too are playing their maintenance, they made the matches when it was necessary, we cannot say that we have fulfilled this task.”
First objective maintenance, otherwise: do not finish last
After the very frustrating draw against Dijon, we had to raise our heads, even if the green locker room is not in the best of states. “There is a part of doubt, of big disappointment, of disillusion, explains the coach, and even if we want to believe it, we realize that our chances are slim. One thing is certain, it is that if after Reims we know that we are going down, I do not want us to finish last.
To finish red lantern, it would really be the last nail in the coffin of a very frustrating season. Because often the greens didn’t lack much to make the difference. “I think sometimes we just lack a bit of focus and execution, summarizes defender Kirsten Sakaki, on that last pass, that last shot, that last block. The group will always fight every game, until the last whistle. We still have a lot of hope, and we will never stop fighting for ourselves, for the club, the staff, for the city of Saint-Étienne, so yes we remain positive.” And this despite an always full infirmary: Chloé Bornes, Esther Okoronkwo, Lalia Storti and Emily Burns will not be traveling to Reims on Saturday.