You must be satisfied after this success against Lorient…
Yes , as it brings us three points closer to third place and it also puts Lorient seven points behind us. If we’d lost Lorient would have been one point behind us. It was very important for us to win.

Was there additional pressure after the defeat to Sochaux?
I was unhappy before the game, as were my players. Not everyhting was bad but a lot of things were not good. We went back to basics, playing the ball around. Things were much better even if a lot of people said we didn’t play well in the first half. In the second half we tried to play the ball around a bit more. After the goal, the team reacted well. It’s great, it was about time!

How do you feel about the penalty ?
At the time I felt it was injust and looking at it again, it was even more flagrant. It wasn’t a penalty.

L’OM concede a penalty just before half time. How was the dressing room?
I changed things around as I felt that Samir Nasri was in better form than he had been recently. I wanted to give the team a bit of width. Bolo Zenden and Modeste M’Bami were playing well and that could give Samir a bit more freedom. I think my forward line put in a great shift in the second half.

Some have said that you reprimanded your players at half time …
You can shout once in a while but not three days in a row, if you do it loses it’s effect. All I said was that they should continue to play the ball around, to speed things up as we’d been a bit slow in the first half. After the changes we were better.

Kanga Akalé probably put in his best performance for OM …
I’d put him on the right and Mamadou Niang on the left as they are both very strong when they turn inside. He scored a great goal, a very important goal for the club. He’s come a long way as he was on the bench with his former club. His confidence should have taken a boost now.

When Mamadou Niang plays, OM score and win. The statistics speak for themselves …
He’s proved it over the course of the season. He is becoming a more complete player, he loses the ball less. His passes are much more precise. He’s getting better.

Was this match a turning point for you?
If we had lost the game we would have been in a poor position. As far as I’m concerned it would have been finished, especially when you see the games we have coming up (Bordeaux, Lyon…). It was a decisive game.

Do you think the team has found the mind-set they had a few weeks ago?
Not quite, but we’re going in the right direction. We finally started playing football again and managed to create a few chances.

How do you feel about OL coming to town?
It’s a game with three points up for grabs. It’s special as they have dominated the league for the last seven years. Lyon are the strongest team in the country.
One player to look out for is Keita who is in great form at the moment.
When you have a player of his quality, you have to be patient as it’s impossible for him to have lost all his qualities in a couple of months. He was outstanding for Lille and he is rediscovering his form.

Do Juninho’s free kicks worry you?
Yes, we’ll have to avoid commiting fouls around the box, but the players know that as well as I do.

After the defeat to Sochaux, OM will be playing in front of their public at the Vélodrome against Lyon. Is this a chance to win them back over for the end of the season …
It’s a long term job. After such a disappointment you have to start by making them satisfied. We’ve done that on numerous occasions this season since I arrived at the club. The public deserve to see a team that will fight throughout the 90 minutes in order to take all 3 points.

You can see the Coach’s View on OMtv Monday at 19h10 & 21h10 and Tuesday at 9h10 & 17h10