In a League that he believes to be "balanced and disputed", the President considers it "premature' to conider the match against Nice as "decisive" but hopes that the team gets back to winning ways at the Vélodrome. Interview.

Pape, you have three games to go in the League (Nice, Lyon, Nancy) before the winter break, what objectives have you set the team?
I don’t think you can tailor your objectives. As far as I’m concerned the objective set at the start of the season is still valid. We want to finish in one of the top two places of the League so that we qualify directly for the Champions League.
The next few games are not going to be easy as we are up against teams that are difficult to play against. But if you look at everyone elses fixture lists, you will see that the League is very well balanced and that the outcome is far from certain. All of our games are going to be difficult and will have to be approached with the same application.

Team’s like Nice or Rennes aren’t used to playing at the top end of the table, what do you think of these sides?
There is always one, sometimes two, side that each year shakes things up as far as the supposed natural order of the League is concerned. Last year it was Nancy. It’s still early to put any sort of value on what Rennes and Nice have done so far. They are two strong team’s with managers who know what they are doing and know how to frustrate their opponents, they know how to use the psychological side of the game. They are opponents that we have to take seriously. It is still, however, too early to think that they will be on the podium at the end of the season. They will want to and they possibly can, but they have to take into consideration clubs like Bordeaux or ourselves. One thing is for sure, the fight is going to be ferocious.   

"Let us get the result that we and our public are looking for

While we are on the subject, Nice are at the Vélodrome on Saturday, a high stakes derby, a six-point match as they say?
Those are the terms of the moment. But if we beat Nice and lose the other two games, then I would not see the benefit. You have to take everything as a whole. We are not even half way through the season and at the same point last year, we were stuck at the bottom end of the table. Nobody would have bet a cent on us finishing in the top three but we did. This match isn’t our last chance of the season, or even decisive … It is an important game just as all 38 matches in the season are. Of course, it would be good for us to win as we are not exactly on a run of succeses, which is not a good thing, but this game will not have an outcome on the final position of either team. It is far to premature to think like that.   

OM have had trouble at the Vélodrome during the last couple of games, is it time for the team to turn the Vélodrome into a fortress again? 
Yes. It is always harmful to lose at home. That’s not just it, you have the anger of the fans to deal with as well. And if you consider that playing at home is an advantage, then losing dilapidates this advantage. I think it’s the same for all teams: moving up the table and achieving your objectives is only possible by controlling your matches at home, and then a little audacity in order to get extra points away from home. It is vital for us to get back into winning ways at home. It’s time to get back to our best in order to get the result that we and our public are looking for.