SRFC / ASSE : key quotes from press conference

Jorge Sampaoli

The discovery of the group in its entirety
We now have a concrete knowledge of the group, both from a collective and individual point of view. In the short term, I hope to come up with an attacking and defensive system that is in line with my playing philosophy. I know that I have players with great potential, but that they haven't yet shown it, particularly given the current situation and the psychological state of the team.

The performance against Lille
Against LOSC, I thought we played a good game defensively, but we weren't convincing going forward. We were up against an in-form team that was far superior to ours. But, in my opinion, we were pretty evenly matched. We could have finished 0-0 or even 1-0 up. I also have the feeling that we suffered less than in previous games, that the team showed a different face and that our organisation was better.

Problems in attack
We've also conceded a lot of goals since the start of the season. What's important for me is that we become solid offensively, but also defensively. We need to improve the team's performances in both areas. For the moment, the important thing is to balance the team. Of course, we're also going to have to find some attacking solutions.

The match against Saint-Étienne
Rennes aren't used to playing in this part of the table, unlike the teams we'll be facing shortly. They know how to tackle this type of match. I expect my players to play aggressively. That means psychological work in particular. In this context, against ASSE, I'm going to give priority to the most aggressive players, who have enough energy to save the club. If there are any problems in this match, I want to see a team capable of rebelling and giving everything. Even if we don't get the result we want at the end, I want the image of this team to change and I want us to generate enthusiasm.

Leo Østigård

The team's form.
The situation is as it is. No one is happy with our results or our position. Everyone wants to do better and reverse the trend. The arrival of the coach has injected a lot of energy, which we needed. The only thing we need to concentrate on now is improving and working even harder. And I hope that the context will be better afterwards.

Priority areas for work
It's not just about defence or attack. It's about the team as a whole. My feeling is that we haven't been structured enough. We need to know exactly what our role is on the pitch. When we lose the ball, we leave far too much space, so our overall organisation needs to be much better.

His personal performances
My debut at Rennes was difficult. I'm not happy with our games, either collectively or individually. In this situation, I have to stay focused on myself and the team, and on how to change the dynamic. We have to try and keep our spirits up and believe in better days ahead. I understand that the fans aren't happy, but we need their support.

Adapting to a system with three defenders
I've played in this system before when I was younger. The formation we play in doesn't really matter to me. The most important thing is to understand the game plan and its philosophy. We're working on it a lot in training at the moment. All of us know exactly how we're going to play.

The defensive performance against Lille
We can always do better. But I have the impression that our performance was more consistent. We felt more involved, especially in the second half when we were better. Now we need to keep working and score more goals.

The Sampaoli method
The coach has a lot of energy. He wants us to improve every day. We really have to concentrate in training and be at our best. That's really important. His demands are very clear. And if you do the work, you'll play at the weekend. For me, the most important thing at the moment is the team's energy, and the coach brings a lot of that, for example in the dressing room before the game against Lille. That's essential in a context like ours.