A product of the OM Youth Academy and a former OM defender, Fabien Laurenti has been at Lens since 2007. He is wary of the Olympiens because “they have had some excellent performances in the Champions League”, he notes ahead of his trip to the Stade Vélodrome on Saturday.
Lens’ start to the season has been somewhat hesitant…
Especially for a club like Lens, being ranked 15th after 10 rounds isn’t good. There have been a lot of changes at the club, in terms of players and the management. It’s been a bit unsettling. We had a pretty bad summer and a busy schedule with European competition. We want to have some continuity in the league, as we just won 2-0 at home, and we want to keep the ball rolling against Marseille.
Lens is still winless on the road. Is that a handicap?
Yeah, we haven’t won a single game on the road yet. We got a point in Toulouse and now we have to take Sunday’s game as seriously as possible. We’ll try to keep things moving after our good home performance against Auxerre. We hope to get at least one point at the Vélodrome on Sunday.
After Guy Roux left, Jean-Pierre Papin took the reins at RC Lens. For you, a native of Marseille, is it a dream come true to work with JPP?
It was pretty weird to begin with. Like all Marseillais, I used to go to the Vél’ as a kid and I was a huge fan of his in his OM days. Now we’re at Lens and I’m getting used to seeing him as my manager.
You’re meeting OM at a point when both sides are in a bit of strife. Is it a crunch match, a 6-point game?
It’s not a 6-pointer, because the season is still young. But it’s still an important match for both teams. We’re very wary of OM because they’ve had some strong performances in the Champions League even though their league campaign isn’t going so well. Marseille is still Marseille. We’re expecting a tough match on Sunday night.
Right now, OM is ranked 18th and is having a bad start to the season. Albert Emon made way for Eric Gerets. As a former Olympien, you keep an eye on the side, what do you make of their season so far?
18th after 10 rounds isn’t so good, but OM has the players to climb back up the table. They’ve just had a bad start. Seeing the Liverpool match, and the quality in OM’s squad, you can only conclude that they’re below where they should be, which is why we’re going to be very prudent when we hit the Vélodrome. When a club is dire straits, they’re capable of anything. We have to be wary on Sunday night.
