You were in the players team of the year. You were voted for by your peers …
I’m extremely satisfied, it was a pleasant surprise to be named in the League’s team of the season, it rewards years of effort. I’m very proud, but it’s also down to my teammates that I won this trophy.

Has this been your best season with Olympique de Marseille ?
The statistics would say so. I’ve had a good season, I kept at things in order to be as consistent as possible even if not everything went well. It’s all about the hard work that was put in.

Steve Mandanda was named goalkeeper of the year. We imagine you agree with this …
It’s logical when you see the season he has put in. He has won us an awful lot of points with his decisive saves. He’s the most consistent player in the squad. He’s got a big future ahead of him. I’m happy for him and proud that OM have the best keeper in the League.

Did the game against Le Mans leave you with regrets?
Of course, as we had the best chances with Kanga Akalé and Benoît Cheyrou. We could have scored the goal that would have given us all three points. Unfortunately we weren’t in luck. We still took a point from the game and nothing is over yet. There’s one gme left to go this week-end.

Do you think Rennes can get a result away to Nancy?
I know that Rennes will be playing hard against Nancy. They are professionals who still have something to play for. Even Strasbourg who have nothing left to play for will come to the Vélodrome looking to end their season on a high. That’s why it won’t be easy for us. We’ll do what we have to in order to win and then we will see how Nancy got on.

How would you feel about finishing in fourth place in the League?
We would be disappointed. But if you look at the efforts we have put in since the 13th game of the season, we could be satisfied as we’ve come a long way. We were in 19th place eand we managed to string a run of victories together so that we could be playing for third place. We could have taken it last Saturday but we still have a chance of getting there …

The supporters have played their role in us climbing the table …
It’s thanks to them as well. They are always there at good or bad times. They were present when we played away from home. And not just the supporters who live in Marseille, there were fans from all over France. They kept us going even when we were in 19th place. The supporters have played their role in us climbing the table.

Eric Gerets wants to keep hold of the backbone of the team in order tochallenge for the title next season …
It’s the best way to go on … This year was difficult as there were new recruits who had to find their feet at the club, who had to adapt to the team. That took time but we saw that afterwards, things went well. We have to keep going on in the same way, keep a maximum of players and go into next season with three or four reinforcements. I think that we will be competitive.

How would you analyse this season on a personal level as it comes to an end?
The start of the season was difficult for the whole team. Then came a second part where we took a lot of pleasure and then a third part where things got a little more difficult on a physical level. We suffered the backlash of all the efforts we had put in and we started to feel completely worn out.