Benoît Cheyrou knows the Rennes side well; his brother plays there. ‘The side is a mix of experienced players and youngsters just starting to come into their own,’ says the OM midfielder.

How are you preparing for Sunday’s match against Rennes?
Like for any other match, nothing changes. We played last week, so we’re back in the rhythm of competition. We certainly hope to have a better start to 2008 than we had to the first half of this season.

Has the absence of the African players who have left for the ACN unsettled the side?
We’ve had quite a few injuries this season and we’ve been able to cover those absences. Whether it’s up front or in defence, we’ve always managed to deal with injuries and suspensions. We have the numbers and quality in our squad to deal with this kind of situation.

OM finished 2007 with a strong dynamic. You must be looking to keep it going…
We’re on the right track now, everyone agrees on that. It shows that hard work pays off. We need to keep going as we were and prolong our unbeaten run of 6 or 7 matches so we can climb up the table.

Rennes played Martigues last weekend. What do you think of the Stade Rennais side ?
I went to the match because my brother was playing in it, so I had a chance to check out the side. They are a mix of experienced L1 players and youngsters just starting to come into their own. They have a good balance. But they are low on confidence after a string of poor results. They’re on a bad run and we mustn’t be the ones to put them back on the right track. On the contrary, we’re going there to get a result.

A few weeks ago, Rennes had a change of manager. Do you think the psychological benefits of this could have some effect on the match?
I hope not. I hope we put in a strong performance at the Stade de la Route de Lorient even though I’m expecting a difficult match.

You’ll be playing against your brother. Do you think one day we might see you both playing for the same side?
We played together already at Lille, so why not in the future… In France or overseas. We each conduct our carers separately but if, one day, we found ourselves at the same club, that would be great.