Monaco this Friday (9 p.m.), then Nice and Rennes: the Mastiffs end the 2021-2022 financial year by facing three contenders for qualification for the Champions League.
This tough schedule is the only thrill allowed for Lille, who drew a line under a European Cup after their defeat on Sunday at Troyes (3-0) marked by two exclusions and three penalties conceded.
Tenth (51 pts) six points behind Strasbourg (6th, 57 pts), the teammates of Jonathan David, silent scorer in 2022 (1 single goal), are preparing to close a disappointing exercise, started with the status of outgoing champion.
Neither the Champions Trophy won against Paris SG in August (1-0) nor the round of 16 of the Champions League alleviates the bitterness accumulated in recent weeks, rotten by the episode Hatem Ben Arfa, put aside after an altercation in the locker room.
” Respect “
“We are aware that we missed the turning point at the end of the season (in Troyes, editor’s note), but I think we are all competitors. There is both the desire to show our true face and the desire to respect the club, the public, our job. All these things must ensure that we respond present, ”explained coach Jocelyn Gourvennec.
“We can’t go back on what we did badly, but we can still finish the season well, by playing full matches, by fighting,” he added.
The prospect of facing Monaco, the team in form at the moment which remains on seven consecutive victories, then two other candidates for the podium, however raises fears of a collapse of the Mastiffs.
Just like the fact that many players, at the end of their contract or leaving, will no longer be Lille next season and could be demobilized for the last three days.
“It is also part of my speech: whatever the future, we must respect each other, respect our season, our club. The notion of respect is important to me, it has always been a foundation of my management, the respect we owe ourselves and in the locker room, ”said the northern technician.
Preparing for the future
“We started the season with ambitions, not all successful, but we did a lot of good things. Starting a season also means finishing it, and out of respect for our profession, our club, our public, we have to end the season well, it’s an imperative, a duty, ”gourvennec hammered in front of the press Thursday.
To face the Monegasque armada, Losc will be depopulated in the middle, with the suspension of Renato Sanches and the absence of Xeka injured in an ankle.
And it’s not going to work out for the trip to Nice next week since Benjamin André and central defender Sven Botman will be suspended, just like Sanches…
“I have to deal with those who are absent, that’s my job, and find the most appropriate solutions. It is true that in the middle we are short of people but we will have a competitive team, ”promised Gourvennec.
“There are three games left to finish this season and we have to finish it very well. You have to be worthy of wearing these colors, explained President Olivier Létang. We need three performances that allow us to finish the championship as well as possible and at the same time, continue to prepare for the future. »
A future that looks uncertain and eventful in the days, weeks and months to come!