“I didn't feel that the players had let the coach down”: at MHSC, time for internal clarifications

| September 18, 2024 | Sport | No Comments

"I didn't feel that the players had let the coach down": at MHSC, time for internal clarifications

The match against Auxerre this Sunday at La Mosson will be essential for Michel Der Zakarian's team, inevitably in the spotlight in these troubled times.

“Call my president and ask him”, replies Michel Der Zakarian calmly when reading L'Equipe which headlines: "Der Zakarian on a wire". According to the sports daily, "a victory against the promoted Auxerre, Sunday, becomes almost obligatory."

If Montpellier, bottom of Ligue 1 with a small point, does not win against Auxerre at La Mosson on the 5th day, the Montpellier coach, who arrived in February 2023, would be "in danger".

Wednesday morning, at the end of a very intense training session, Michel Der Zakarian calms things down and does not feel such tension in view of the bond he maintains with the president Laurent Nicollin, the sports director Bruno Carotti and the president's advisor Michel Mézy, present every day in Grammont.

"The management didn't tell me anything"

"In the relationship I have with my management, there has been no story of this order. Every morning, I see Michel Mézy and Bruno Carotti. “The management didn't tell me anything,” he says, before clarifying. “In football, anything can happen. I'm not twenty years old. When you're a coach and you don't win a match and it lasts, all coaches are in danger. It's the law of football,” he says, as if it were obvious given the lack of victories.

“Last week, I suggested to the president to see some players, or rather some executives”, he says. Laurent Nicollin spoke with the thirty-somethings: captain Téji Savanier, goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte, striker Wahbi Kharzi….but not only.

“At the request of my coach, whom I met during the break, I saw twelve or thirteen players for two days with Michel and Bruno. These discussions were very positive but exhausting. I shared the players' wishes and questions with the staff. Even though there are improvements to be made to training, it is going well", reports the Montpellier president.

"When I feel that.."

"If he doesn't know", if the players are still behind him, "if he doesn't feel the same investment from all his players", Michel Der Zakarian knows the recipe for getting the team back on its feet and doesn't seem to give up.

"Anything can happen in football. You have to work hard to win matches. “We need to get back to work very hard,” he warns, especially after seeing the two opening matches at La Mosson against the young Strasbourg team (1-1) and against Nantes (1-3).

“In Rennes, where we played one of our best matches, I didn't feel that the players had let the coach down. When I feel that the players have let the coach down, the club or me down, we'll act to put things right,” he says., adds the Montpellier president. 

“We have too many players who are not healthy”

Der Zak, former central defender, expects much better in the defense sector, the most permeable in Ligue 1 (13 goals). "We must have the intention to defend well in order not to concede a goal. Collectively, we must be much better in the desire to defend together and in solidarity. Then, we must accentuate the work put in place at the beginning of the season and apply it on the pitch to create more opportunities."

And, the Montpellier coach puts forward another argument. "I never talk about it, but there are too many injuries. We have too many players who are not healthy and who take too long to heal.", he points out. On Sunday in Rennes, he was deprived of nine injured players, one new recruit: Birama Touré, not yet physically ready, and central defender Becir Omeragic, affected by the death of his father.

Montpellier could recover some strength for the match against Auxerre, already decisive for the rest of the season. "The match against Auxerre is very important to win, have a certain attitude and show a reaction from the players and staff. It's time to start our season", Laurent Nicollin hopes but warns. “Any coach who doesn't get results is in trouble if it persists. It's the facts that will prompt me to know if a change is needed based on attitude or behavior. Will that push the problem back ?”, he breathes. Just to pick up the thread, electric, of a season that was off to a bad start.

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