Rennes (AFP)
Alone on the front line: Julien Stéphan survived the tense cohabitation with the ex-president of Rennes Olivier Létang but the coach must now assume the pressure of Rennes ambitions on Tuesday in the quarterfinal of the Coupe de France (8:55 p.m.) against amateurs from Belfort (N2).
Passed close to a dismissal this fall, when his management had given him an ultimatum on three matches "to save (his) job", the young technician (39 years old) appears reinforced by the eviction of Létang, with whom relations n 'were "not always harmonious".
But Stéphan must now face up to the head of Stade Rennes (3rd in Ligue 1), with the ambition of a possible qualification for the Champions League and the dream of winning a second French Cup in a row.
"Pressure is part of the job, you have to accept it and live with it," assured the coach after the Pinault family's decision, shareholder of the club since 1998, to sack Olivier Létang on Friday.
"Above all, I don't want to be given more power than I have. I'm the Stade Rennes coach, no more. It's already a lot," he adds, trying to get some hindsight on events.
- Blunt organisms -
"Today, I have no more pressure than when I recovered the team in December 2018, that it was 14th at four points from the roadblocker and that I heard of a potential relegation", he added. At the time, he was coach of the reserve team and had been appointed on an interim basis, before seeing his contract extended after two great victories.
"I have no more pressure either than at the end of November, when I had three matches to save my job and I saw names blooming in the press to replace me," he continued.
After a failed European campaign and a slump in the league, the team had won, going from 12th to 3rd place in Ligue 1. A podium consolidated in January but weakened last week, where Rennes did not take only one point out of the six possible and saw Lille return to a length.
Given the series of matches, the bodies are dull and injuries follow one another. If Eduardo Camavinga, more rested, and Raphinha, recovered from his back pain, seem operational at Sochaux to face Belfort, Jérémy Morel is injured and captain Damien Da Silva, who suffers from a thigh, is uncertain.
- "All shocked" -
The spirits are also a little disturbed by the dismissal of Létang, in particular for the players that the leader had personally recruited. "There has been a lot of misunderstanding," said Da Silva on Saturday evening. "We were all shocked at this decision," added Morel.
But "there is a shareholder who makes the decisions. We are on the ground, we are doing the job, we are trying to give everything", he added. "We have an exciting season ahead of us," said Da Silva.
For Stéphan, it is necessary that "the spirit of competition prevails over everything".
Especially since he does not expect a health walk against the fans of Belfort, who scored three goals against Nancy (L2, 3-1) and qualified on penalties against Montpellier (L1) in previous rounds.
"The exploits, they are capable of doing them. We will have a highly motivated team in front of us, an almost full stadium, he will inevitably have a very strong fervor around this team, which deserves it", he warns.
However, the title holder does not intend to make feelings. It is the first time in 16 years that Rennes have reached the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France two years in a row, and the team does not intend to stop there. This is the challenge that Julien Stéphan, alone on the front line, must take up.
© 2020 AFP