Gérard Prêcheur: 'It'll be a difficult game'
The Paris Saint-Germain women's team coach spoke to us ahead of Sunday's league game at Dijon.
Coach, YOU WERE UNABLE TO WORK WITH A NUMBER OF PLAYERS WHO WERE ON INTERNATIONAL DUTY DURING THE BREAK. hOw are things shaping up?
"We've taken advantage of this time to catch up on some things. For example, the video and statistical analysis of our players. They're important things for our squad, but also in regard to our opponents. We've also been keeping an eye on our players with their national teams to see how they're getting on. And of course we've been preparing our upcoming games and analyising our opponents."
THE NEXT GAME IS AGAINST DIJON. YOU'VE NOT HAD A LOT OF TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE MATCH ON THE PITCH, HAVE YOU?
"It's always difficult when the players come back from international duty in terms of our tactical strategy. It's very likely that, for 15 days, they've heard very different things to what they usually hear at Paris Saint-Germain. And it's important they listen to that to play well for their national team. So of course bringing them back into how we're going to play in just 48 hours is difficult. That's what we're going to try and work on before tomorrow's game."
WHAT TYPE OF GAME DO YOU EXPECT AGAINST DIJON?
"It'll be a difficult game, as it always is. That's one of the things I've learned from this season. There's not been a game in which we haven't had difficult periods. Fortunately for us, we've generally managed to overcome them, even if that hasn't always been the case. The Coupe de France game against them wasn't easy, we scored late on. Even if we often have the ball, it's not enough. You have to watch out for counter-attacks and be more determined in our finishing. As for our opponents, they've had the advantage of having their players available and so have had more time to prepare for our arrival."
THIS GAME IS THE START OF AN IMPORTANT PERIOD, DOESn't it?
"We're happy to get back to playing competitive games, we've missed it during the last three weeks. It starts with a tough game tomorrow, but we'll have a week to prepare for the trip to Bordeaux for the Coupe de France, then again a week to work ahead of the Reims game at home."