Just back from holidays, the Senegalese defender discusses the coming season, Ligue1 and the Champions League: “OM isn’t there just to make up the numbers”.

What did you get up to over the holidays?
I had 3 weeks of to recover after international matches and a long season. I went to Greece and then to Paris to see my family.

OM was very busy in the transfer market during this time…
On paper the recruiting looks very interesting. We have a good team, reinforced well, which should be better than last year. Now we have to prove it on the pitch.

Next season, will OM need to more consistent in order to reach its goals?
We finished 2nd in the league with 12 losses. We made it to the Champions League but we could have done better by avoiding more defeats. Consistency is important, we work on it all season long.

Is the signing of Boudewijn Zenden the highlight of the summer’s recruitment?
All the recruiting was high quality. Boudewijn Zenden is a great player of international renown. But all the players who arrived here are good. Benoît Cheyrou has already established his quality. But there’s no need to name names. The directors did a great job.

Can OM challenge for the title? 
You have to move forward every year. Last year we finished 2nd in the league and played in the Coupe de France final. So we should be aiming for the title this season. But out first goal is to be competitive.

How do see the beginning of OM’s fixtures?
To say that the start of the season will be easy because we’ve drawn promoted or “average” L1 teams doesn’t mean anything. It’s consistency that’s important, and our ambition. We’ll have to be strong both home and away. Whether it’s Strasbourg, Paris or Lyon, we need to bring home the points from day one. We owe it to ourselves to start the season well, like last year.

In its first 4 matches of the season, OM will be televised 3 times on Canal+…
It’s good to be on TV, your friends can see you (laughs)… It’s no different from other seasons. OM has a lot of fans and putting OM TV means big audience.

What are your objectives for the Champions League?
We’re not there to make up the numbers. Once you’re in the Champions League, you have to make the most of it. It would be pretentious to say we’ll win it, but we’re going to go as far as we possibly can. The directors will give us our main objectives in due course, but for the Champions League is very important.

Will OM be competitive in the first phase of the Champions League?
When you see a Champions League match, say Real Madrid-AS Roma, you tend to think they’re 10 times stronger than any L1 side. It’s up to us to disprove that. The French teams’ performances last season could suggest that L1 isn’t up to the task. But no one expected Monaco to reach the final in 2004. Real and Inter are huge teams, but after the group phase, it’s home and away. When you think of the atmosphere at the Vélodrome, you have to admit that OM could be competitive.