The Paris Saint-Germain coach gave his thoughts ahead of Wednesday's Ligue 1 game against AS Monaco.
MONACO
"It's the same coach and almost the same team as last year. They're a really top quality opponent both defensively and going forward, they manage to create a lot of chances. They're solid, and a title challenger, but we want to get a good result. They've been one of our most tenacious rivals since the start of the season."
A BIG GAME
"These are always difficult games, and when you play away from home, against a direct rival, it's always tough. But I think that we can be competitive, whether it be home or away. And we're going to Monaco with the aim of winning. We ask ourselves every game how our opponents are going to play, we analyse how they have played against us and how they've played against other opponents. It's difficult to know exactly what they'll do, because they're able to vary their style of play."
the league
"People always think that we should win the league without difficulty. But Ligue 1 is a very high level of play - you only have to look at how the teams are playing in Europe. I know a lot of coaches come to France and say to themselves that the level is very high."
ACHRAF HAKIMI
"We pay attention to the game time and physical profile of each player, because each player is different. Achraf Hakimi is at the forefront of all of that. He played a lot last season and had the Olympics too. We try to rest players when they need it, but it's not easy with the fixture list we have."
THE SQUAD
"It's a little utopian to have two players in each position - no coach has that - but it's something that I would like, to have competition for places, for the players not to switch off and that they try to keep at their best level constantly, to bring the team forward. We don't want 11 starters, but 15, 16 or 17, to raise the level in training even higher, to be competitive in each of our games, regardless of the competition."
OUSMANE DEMBÉLÉ
"I see him in the same way as I always have, I've known him for years. I know the character he is very well, I have always defended him as a player and as a person. I want him to give the best version of himself, but that's a demand I have of all my players."