France Bleu: Rémy, how do you wake up the day after a day like yesterday (Saturday) after so many wanderings and after such a match scenario?
Rémy Riou: Tired (laughs). Physically and mentally tired. It’s difficult. Given the face of the match, it’s complicated but hey, that’s how it is. You have to accept it. We must continue to work to erase these errors.
FB: For those who do not know your group life, these difficulties encountered during the trip to Sochaux change a lot of things in terms of preparation for the match?
RR: Yes, for those who don’t know, it sure is different from another job, but it’s not the best way to prepare for a match. There were a lot of complications. This had never happened to me. It’s true that it was very complicated to manage, especially arriving forty minutes before the match. We have to adapt, we did it very well by getting into the game very well. Unfortunately, it didn’t pay off in the long run.
It was not ideal to prepare for a match but here we have to adapt
FB: It’s true that it’s original to do a video shoot on the bus, not to mention the comfort of the journey. Not ideal for preparing for a match?
RR: No, there was a long journey, a lot of expectations, a meal that was not very balanced (laughs) and therefore a bit late. It is certain that we are used to eating at fairly fixed and fairly spaced times. There, it was done as best we could. It was not ideal to prepare for a match but here we have to adapt. That too is part of the life of a professional.
FB: You have adapted well. You got into the game well. We can’t blame you for it, but the limits of the team with the many absentees appeared in the second half.
RR: Yes, we especially took a red very early very early in the match and we took a goal almost behind. It was complicated to finish at ten. We already knew that it’s a good team and that at eleven it would be complicated. Even by conceding the first goal very quickly, I think that at eleven we could have waited a bit and played our shots thoroughly. At ten, it was a little more complicated. Over the length of the match, did the preparation play a role in the organisms? I do not know. We still had absentees but there were boys present who also had their chance to play. It’s a shame not to bring something back from Sochaux.
I think that at eleven we could have waited a bit and played our shots thoroughly. At ten, it was a little more complicated
FB: Since the beginning of this season, every time you can put your head back, you get a tile. There, it is the many absentees who prevent you from restarting the year 2022 with a full squad and this match scenario which does not help you either.
RR: That’s how it is. You have to hang on. In life, nothing is easy. It’s just football. We’re not far. We feel it since we are making a big start to the match. We feel that there is not much missing. Precisely to turn all this in our favor, we have to hang on and do a little more each time to finally have a real victory and a benchmark match over 90-95 minutes.
FB: Is that what you miss today? A reference match?
RR: Above all, we need a complete game. We played 90 minutes against Quevilly (2-2). Unfortunately, there were five minutes of stoppage time. Afterwards, I don’t know what we’re missing, but we’re missing a full game to be able to win games and take points.
You have to hang on and do a little more each time to finally have a real victory and a benchmark match
FB: This repetitive scenario of leading and being overtaken – even though the scenarios of the matches are different – is quite painful?
RR: Yes, but it’s quite anecdotal. I don’t stay too focused on that because, as soon as you fixate on these things, it stays. It happened two or even three games out of twenty. It’s too much but it remains anecdotal. This will not affect the end of the championship.
FB: What do you need today? Should we ask for a little more patience from the club’s entourage, from the supporters?
RR: We are a young team. We see that we are a little naive in certain situations. It takes time. It’s falling into place, slowly. We see that we are doing good things. Afterwards, it is sure that we are not helped by the external elements. We finish at ten at the sixtieth minute. It’s very complicated but it’s very encouraging to play matches like that. On our last meeting, we proved that we could do something and that’s it. This bodes well for the future.
On what we have shown in the last matches, the red zone does not scare me. Afterwards, you have to be a little more consistent.
FB: For a goalkeeper, you haven’t been helped either by defensive errors lately like yesterday (Saturday) on certain badly negotiated phases of play or on set pieces.
RR: That’s how it is. When you’re a goalkeeper, you have to adapt to situations. I try to refocus, to talk a lot to avoid small placement errors, so that we stay focused throughout the match. After that, it’s not easy. I also have my role to play. We learn every day and we progress every day.
FB: In ten days, you have a big week ahead of you with the reception of Ajaccio and Niort. Are you going to have a full week of preparation before these matches?
RR: That’s good. I would have preferred to go on a little faster but at least we’re going to go on these two games to get back on track, take the six points to go up a little to show that we are capable of moving forward and doing great things.
FB: The red zone doesn’t scare you?
RR: No, it doesn’t scare me. On what we showed yesterday (Saturday) and on what we showed in the last matches, that doesn’t scare me. Afterwards, you have to be a little more consistent.