After OM's good start to 2010, Mathieu Valbuena wants to maintain the current rhythm and frame of mind. Two elements which could allow OM to achieve their objectives.
You came off at half time against Paris. Was that a tactical choice?
Yes. In the first half Paris put us under a lot of pressure and didn’t leave us much space to play with. Being 1-0 up at the break was a little miracle, even if Heinze’s header could have made it 2-0.
Did Didier Deschamps explain his decision …
Everyone understood it. It was for the good of the team, there was no need for any specific explanation.
What is important, is the positive spiral we are in at the moment. We have to maintain it as in front everyone is moving forward as well.
OM are closing in on Bordeaux, who didn’t play, in the league table. But now, both sides have games in hand …
We did our job. We have one match still to play and Bordeaux two, the league table isn’t completely up to date. They have their two games and we’ll see what will happen. In the meantime, we are just trying to win our matches as you can never count on a game in hand. What is important, is the positive spiral we are in at the moment. We have to maintain it as in front everyone is moving forward as well. The matches are played at a high rhythm and we will need everyone. We’re on the right track in the league, but we must be careful to keep it that way. We are consistent but we have to keep that going, we have to avoid poor results and falling back into our old habits. The squad is not getting carried away just yet.
Do you have the title in mind?
For the moment we haven’t spoken about it. We are where we are and things are moving forward. Things are moving quickly in front of us, Montpellier are still there, Lyon are coming back strongly, Bordeaux are ahead and they have two games in hand. We have to keep on track and maintain the team spirit. We want to win something, but there are other pretenders as well. There are a lot of demands in Marseille. We are taking each match as it comes, Ligue 1 and Europa League, our objective is to win these matches.
The Coupe de la Ligue would be an achievement, as I’m sick and tired of having no winner’s medals. I’ve been waiting to win something since my first year here at OM.
Looking at the standings, OM cannot slip up in any way …
We know that poor performances in the league can allow our objectives to drift away. We have to keep producing performances like those of the moment, without getting carried away. We are ambitious. We are involved in a number of competitions and have the possibility of winning one or two titles. We’re going to give our all to win something.
Is the final of the Coupe de la Ligue already in the back of your mind?
Yes, especially as I come from the Bordeaux region. OM-Bordeaux, it’s the final that everyone was hoping for. The Coupe de la Ligue would be an achievement, as I’m sick and tired of having no winner’s medals. I’ve been waiting to win something since my first year here at OM. I lost a final if the Coupe de France in my first season at OM, I hope I don’t have to go through that again. OM haven’t won anything in a long time and it would be fantastic to win a trophy this year. We all have an idea in mind, we’d like to win everything we can. It will be difficult, but fantastic.
You didn’t play very much at the start of the season, but since the start of 2010 we’ve seen a lot more of you …
When the team needs help, the coach gives me more attacking freedom. He is very demanding about getting back to defend, as I have a flank to defend. It’s important to help out the defence as that allows us to attack better. The transfer window was not an easy period, but I worked hard in training to turn the situation around. I feel good at OM and now things are a lot better.
