Didier Ollé-Nicolle: 'It's very exciting to be part of this new format'

Coach, Paris Saint-Germain will be starting their UEFA Women's Champions League campaign. How do you feel about the game against Breidablik?

"It's a competition that now brings the biggest teams together. When I say 'now', it's because the format is new, there are more teams, preliminary rounds, a group stage... It's getting closer and closer to the men's version. It's very exciting to be part of this new format. It will allow our team to play a lot of top level matches, so it's very interesting. It forces us to improve every day."

What kind of game are you expecting on Wednesday? 

"It will be a physical match because of the temperature and the fact that we will be playing on a synthetic pitch against an athletic opponent. The majority of the players in this team are internationals and form the backbone of the Icelandic team. In the preliminary rounds, they scored eighteen goals and conceded only two to qualify for the group stage. They were crowned Icelandic champions and won the national cup with a 4-0 victory on Saturday. From what I've seen on video, I really feel like we're going up against a team that is full of confidence."

In what state of mind are your players in? 

"Our last match was cancelled, which is always annoying when you have prepared well for it. At the last minute, the wind died down a bit. We had also prepared for the Champions League game that was coming up and the trip to Iceland. We had to make some adjustments and adapt, but that's the nature of top-level sport. You can't predict everything. But the team feels good, the players are very receptive, there is a good mentality in the group. We're going to have a lot of matches, four in two weeks, so we'll have to be accurate in terms of turnover and playing time for everyone. But at the moment we're only thinking about Wednesday's game, because I expect it to be a tough game."