Niko Kovac, absolutely Monaco coach: “You have to earn points”
“Are you wary of decompression after qualifying for the knockout stages of the Europa League validated Thursday after your victory against Real Sociedad (2-1)?
That’s always what I’m talking about: after a very big game and a very good result, like qualifying in the next round, it might be a problem to think that it will be much easier in L1. It’s the biggest danger and as a coach, I try to be careful, it’s the hardest moment for each team. To become a big team, you have to win the matches after the European matches. It’s a hard job for the staff to repeat that to the players, to remind them that the next game is always the most important.
Without the Europa League until March, can you make a new start in L1 to move away from your eighth place?
We did our duty in the Europa League, we qualified, it’s a great accomplishment. We now have three months, before the resumption of the European Cup, to work in L1 and the Coupe de France. We have to climb the rankings with our energy and our means. There, we are in-between, it’s neither good nor bad but it’s up to us to go up and that means winning matches. We have to win against Strasbourg, we absolutely have to collect points.
The Europa League has encouraged you to rotate your team a lot since the start of the season. Do you feel that these rotations annoy the players?
On always works together. Everyone knows what to do, this is no excuse. In a good group, all the players can play and play a lot, here and in the national team. There is a need to find a good balance to avoid injury. The players played very well on Thursday, at high intensity, we’ll see how they feel. For example, Djibril (Sidibé) had cramps at the end, we have to see how it goes, and Benoît (Badiashile, hamstrings) will not be available. Aurélien (Tchouaméni, spared Thursday due to a knee discomfort) will be tested during the last session this Saturday. “