Tuchel: 'We will be ready'
Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel spoke to the media at the traditional pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday's trip to Nantes in the rescheduled Week 28 Ligue 1 clash:
THE SQUAD
"Marquinhos, Neymar, Cavani, Bernat, Verratti, Thiago Silva, Meunier are out for the trip to Nantes and Di Maria is very doubtful. Neymar is training with us, he feels great and doesn't feel any pain in his foot. He works very hard and I have the impression that he is already full of confidence. He wants to get back on the pitch as soon as possible."
THE LAST MATCHES
"We are going through a difficult period. We have a lot of injured players. The squad is tired, physically and mentally. We picked up two more injuries against Lille. It's not easy, but we have to deal with it for the match in Nantes. Nantes are a good team with great supporters. Playing there won't be easy, but we will be ready. Me and the coaching staff, the medical staff, the physios are all working very hard. We have to analyse each injury. We are missing players, but that's the situation we've been in since January."
THE LOSS TO LILLE
"We need to accept it, stay calm, united. I don't think we're in crisis, but it is a difficult period. We knew it was going to happen and it was getting harder and harder to win matches. I know we can still perform. It's hard to keep winning, week in, week out… to keep breaking records... Some weeks are harder than others, but it's up to us to find the solutions."
WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP
"The aim is to be champions as soon as possible. We had the chance against Strasbourg, then against Lille. But we are still confident. We can win the league tomorrow. We still have a final to play. We always have new objectives. That's the way it is. And we have to be careful to stay on the right track. Every situation is different. We lost one match and there are reasons for that."
PLAYING STYLE
"Changing your playing style is the hardest thing to do in football. You need a team with a lot of experience and quality. Why change? We have a 17-point lead in the standings, so we have to try and do the same thing, do better with our own style. We don't have the time to change our tactics. I don't think it will help because the players are used to the way we play."