Volleyball: “We want to build the future with loyal people”, announces Jean-Charles Caylar from Montpellier

President Caylar confirmed Le Marrec as coach of MHSC VB. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

The president of the MHSC VB takes stock of a season in which he regrets that the objectives were not achieved and looks forward to the next where he hopes to strengthen a squad which will always be led by Loic Le Marrec.

What is your assessment of the MHSC VB season?

Currently, we have not achieved our goals of finishing in the top four of the regular season in the league and winning a title. We failed by a stretch since we lost in the final of the Coupe de France and finished one point behind fourth place in Ligue A. Everything is linked since the fact of not having home advantage in the quarter-finals of the play-offs penalized us in the final of the Coupe de France since the team lacked freshness.

How do you explain it?

We had a team made up of confirmed international players. They are subjected to hellish pace with little rest. At one point, we paid for it. Danny Demyanenko was injured in the Cup final and was unable to finish the season. After injuries last summer, Ezequiel Palacios and Raphaël Corre did not return to 100%…

What are the positive aspects of the season?

We have allowed the emergence of young talents like Amir Tizi-Oualou and Joris Seddik who are called up to the French team or even the young libero Florent Quiot. There were some good surprises like the Finn Luka Marttila. After the departure of Olivier Lecat and his staff, we started with an almost blank slate and were in a fight throughout the season.

Do you regret that the Coupe de France final was organized between the first two matches of the play-offs ?

We regret it, yes, but we knew it from the start. The National League must adapt to the constraints imposed by the international federation and the European federation. But the play-off format does not convince me with the quarter-finals based on the best of five matches. I am one of those who think that we can have best-of-three play-offs with a final in a straight match. But I am not part of the majority on this point.

What happened with Italian coach Lorenzo Tubertini, sacked in January?

After Olivier Lecat, an institution in Montpellier to whom I owe a lot, I did not want a French coach. I favored the solution of a foreign coach and Lorenzo Tubertini ticked all the boxes. I quickly noticed that the graft was not catching on with the players. We hit rock bottom in Sète and against Saint-Jean-d’Illac, the players were lost and the coach couldn't find any solution. It was at that moment that I made the decision to part with it.

Then assistant coach, Loic Le Marrec took over with success…

We are now part of the MHSC, a club with tradition and culture, a club which trusts the men of the inner circle. We want to build with loyal people. I had Loic as a player and as a coach. It seemed important to me to entrust the team to someone who knows the club, who has a love of the jersey. And Loic did a good job. He will be the coach next season.

How do you envision this next season ?

I think we need a significant workforce with internationals but not only that. We have to find a balance. We also want to keep our players for several seasons by bringing a Montpellier touch to the squad. This will be the case, for example, with the return of Corentin Phelut, trained at the club.

What will your goals be?

Next season, we will be ambitious without being polluted by the European Cup in a championship which will run from September to May. The objectives will be at least as high as this season with the desire to win a title knowing that the Coupe de France is particularly close to my heart.

Phelut and Lopez Pascual, two first recruits

Budget for the 2024-2025 season: 1.9 million euros.
Confirmed departures: Danny Demyanenko, Moritz Reichert (Berlin), Luka Marttila (Monza), Florent Quiot, Luka Marttila, Amir Tizi-Oualou (Tourcoing, not confirmed by the club), Piele Halagahu.
Confirmed arrivals: Corentin Phelut (libéro, FRA), Tomas Lopez Pascual (ré receiver-attacker, ARG)
They remain: Nicolas Le Goff (central, FRA), Ezequiel Palacios (receiver-forward, ARG), Raphaël Corre (passer, FRA), Joris Seddik (central, FRA), Dimitar Dimitrov (pointed, BUL), Nathan Spano (receiver-forward, FRA)

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