Niko Kovac (Monaco) before the match against Bordeaux: “The home victory is always imperative”
“What is the state of form of your players for the reception of Bordeaux on Sunday?
Djibril (Sidibé) is not fit because he felt his old muscle injury. Caio (Henrique) is one of those who have played more this season. He had cramps against Real Sociedad. I expect him to have some problems late in the game, but he’s nothing special. We just have to be careful. Those C (Fabregas) is still injured. The rest of the group are in the field today (Saturday).
“We have to put more energy into each match, but it’s going in the right direction”
You remain in five games without defeat. Do you see your team from last season?
We are happy with this series, we are improving little by little. These are not big steps, they are small steps, because we have to put more energy into each game, but things are going in the right direction. Last year, after the same number of games, we had the same number of points (11 after 8 days). On grows.
What are you better at?
It’s physically, mentally, technically. Physically, we are much better than last season at this time. Tactically, we manage to develop new details. We adapt better to our opponents. Technically, we are better: matches like those against Chakthior and Real Sociedad will help us improve.
What do you think of Bordeaux, your opponent this Sunday?
We all know that it is a historic French football club. As I experienced last season, all coaches need a little time, this is the case with my counterpart from Bordeaux, who has just arrived. His team is gaining momentum. It has its structure. His players know what to do with and without the ball. We will have played three days earlier, otherwise they will be fresh. We expect a difficult game.
Do you consider the victory against Bordeaux imperative before this international break?
When you are a coach or playing for a big club, victory at home is always imperative. When we look at the stats, it doesn’t work for us to play at home (Monaco took only 4 points out of 12). We want to change that. “