Lyon Oct 11 (BUS): On his first day in office, Lyon coach Laurent Blanc was already in crisis management mode.
Blanc was named on Sunday as a replacement for Peter Bose after Lyon’s poor start to the season. With the aim of qualifying for the Champions League, the seven-times champions have won just four of the 10 league matches so far and have gone five without a win.
Blanc, who is back in Ligue 1 after a six-year hiatus, met his players on Monday to instill a sense of urgency to correct the ship’s course before the World Cup kicks off in November, the Associated Press reported.
“The players know they need to do more,” Blanc said during a press conference in Lyon. “I gave a short but firm speech. The first goal is to try to get as many points as possible in our next five games before the break.”
The 56-year-old has enjoyed great success during his previous spells with French clubs, winning the league title in 2009 with Bordeaux when he ended Lyon’s long reign, then taking charge of Paris Saint-Germain three times from 2014-16.
Blanc, who is credited with getting France back on track when he coached the national team from 2010 to 2012, is also known for his ability to build teams that play an attractive brand of football.
But for now, make it clear that an ugly win will do the trick.
“I’m not going to pretend I’m the guy who wants to put the beautiful game first,” said Blanc. “If we get points while playing well, I will be the happiest. But I will also be very happy, if it is just about collecting points.”
The former Bordeaux and Paris Saint-Germain coach said the extended break from November 13 to December 28 due to the World Cup would be a good moment to work deeply with his players, hoping that this approach would bring long-term benefits during the second. Half of the season.
Prior to that, Blanc said he wanted to improve his players’ confidence and fitness.
“Unfortunately, some of our players were struggling to give as much as they could,” said Blanc. “I think of our experienced players. They should be the ones who push the team to the top.”
On paper, Lyon has strong potential and Blanc said he has not asked for new players. But Alexandre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso, who have returned to Lyon after stints abroad, have not yet lived up to expectations. In defense, Jerome Boateng hasn’t played this season and Thiago Mendes has proven unreliable.
Blanc didn’t say what would change right away, but promised to exhaust his team.
“The players will be surprised, because there will be a lot of work to be done,” said Blanc. “With a very high level of sporting readiness, which will allow us to put together the game that I want for this team.”
Blanc’s appointment comes at a sensitive time as Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas is in talks to sell the club to Eagle Football Holdings LLC, which is controlled by American businessman John Textor. The agreement was due to be finalized on September 30 but has been postponed to October 21 as the two parties are still negotiating financial details.
Aulas said the decision to fire Boss and hire Blanc was approved by Textor.
“I always dreamed of having Laurent Blanc as Lyon coach,” Aulas said. “Looking forward to the future. I think we made the right decision.”