Marseille (AFP)

André Villas-Boas, the new manager of Olympique de Marseille, is convinced: if he keeps his current group, and Florian Thauvin in particular, OM can aim for the podium, "the main goal of the club", has he said Thursday, 48 hours of the resumption of the L1 Saturday against Reims at the Vélodrome.

Q: Are you worried about losing a player like Florian Thauvin, either to England, whose transfer window closes this Thursday at 18:00, or somewhere else?

A: "Normally the English mercato wakes up on the last day, you see faxes arrive, emails ... But this year it is not the case! And yes, I hope to keep Thauvin. it remains the whole month of August (note: until the end of the transfer window in France) But + Flo + is very quiet, happy to stay, and that's important for us, with a decisive player like him. And with the end of the English transfer window, I do not think there are still big clubs that can come with the amount of money that a player like that costs.We have a very big ambition this year, we must absolutely to keep our best players, and + Flo + is part of this group (...) Like Dimitri Payet, whom I find in a very good state of mind with a contagious ambition, for me and the others ".

Q: Is the transfer window ready for OM?

A: "This first year is a bit difficult on the construction of the team, with our difficulties (financial) in the transfer window, although in the end we did well, with Alvaro Gonzalez in central defense and Dario Benedetto as number 9 These are two experienced players, profiles that I was looking for, which I talked about with Jacques-Henri (Eyraud) .I was looking for experienced players, with qualities to play immediately, not young players. we have quality and if we can stay with this group, without (other) sales, we can reach the podium, our main objective.

Q: The idea of ​​recruiting a left-back is abandoned?

A: "There is a possibility that the transfer window will be finished for us, and I do not think there will be much surprise by the end of August, this left-wing post, a post we're looking for, to have more competition (with Jordan Amavi and Christopher Rocchia), is a very sought-after position, with a reduced mercato.We trust Jordan and Chris, but it can change until the end of August.We will look at the opportunities. that the Vélodrome did not appreciate the performance of Jordan against Napoli (1-0 defeat Sunday night) was a surprise for me (...) The Velodrome must put pressure on others, not on the team But this is the essence of Marseille, its supporters, a bit like Porto.

Interviewed at a press conference

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