Jocelyn Prêcheur: 'Execute our game plan'

Coach, It's now been a month and a half since competitive football got back underway, what do you make of the start to this season?

"I take away two things. The first is that the Paris Saint-Germain Women's team is in a period of transition. Once this transition is complete, we will truly have a very high quality environment to work in. But despite all the little difficulties we may have during this period, the squad is very committed. The transfer window has been closed for a few weeks, so we have a finalised squad. We are working to build connections and create a strong bond within this group. Progress is good, and even though there is still a lot to work on, I would say that the team spirit is very good."

YOU Recently took charge of the team, what are your objectives for the squad?

"In essence, I would say the objective is still to retain all the work that has been done in the last year on the fundamentals, on the way we play. It's true that I took over the team, but with the frequency of matches, paradoxically, we haven't had much time to train on the pitch. So what I'm trying to bring is more of the off-field aspects, such as team cohesion and individual discussions I've had regarding psychological aspects, where we know we've shown areas in which we need to make a lot of progress.

Now, we need to focus on specific aspects that may require more individualised work. However, until now, we haven't had the time to implement this. Additionally, at the same time, there's a consideration about the restructuring of the coaching staff. We will see who will be working with me. We know that the mental side of things are very important in modern football, and I place a lot of importance on them. These are also things that are part of the thinking around the staff restructuring process. So all of this will come together gradually. I won't hide the fact that in the last two weeks, we've really focused on the competition, and gradually, we will continue to build and introduce these additional elements. Always with the aim of improving and optimising the resources we have and the potential of the players."

IT'S now time for the return of the UEFA Womens champion's league, how did you feel about the first leg against manchester united?

"There are a lot of positives to take from what happened in England. In my opinion, the first half was almost completely one-sided. I won't dwell on the frustration we felt coming back in at 0-0 at halftime and our lack of ruthlessness in front of goal. It's something we are aware of and have focused on. For now, we can see improvements as we are attacking much more than we were a few weeks ago. But now, we need to be more effective. The second half was more balanced. They posed a threat to us in areas where they are strong, especially from set pieces. We know they are very dangerous.

"Nevertheless, we are facing the runners-up of the Women's Premier League, a highly competitive competition. It is a club that, despite everything, understands the demands of top-level football due to its history and what it represents in the world of football in general. We've talked about it a lot since, and we've also worked on it in training. Now, we need to approach it with confidence, using our strengths, while also being aware that given the quality of our opponent, we need to perform at our very best. Each player needs to bring out their individual best and collectively, we need to harness all our capabilities. If we can play at a high level and showcase all our qualities, in addition to implementing what we've been working on, then we should be confident and go into it with our strengths."

AND ON WEDNESDAY EVENING, IT'S already the return leg at the parc des princes...

"We need to be able to execute our game plan throughout the entire match. Maybe, at some point during the match, when Manchester United will have a period of domination and we'll need to manage that part better. It's a challenge we've had for a long time, and we've worked on it extensively. We need to be able to handle weaker periods as well, and even counter-attack more effectively if we find ourselves defending deeper in the game. We have shown that when we press high and engage in opposition, we can really trouble them, and we'll continue to do that at the Parc des Princes in front of our fans when the opportunity arises. During their strong periods, that's when we might need to be smarter, accept that we might need to defend more, and perhaps use those moments to counter-attack with the qualities of our forwards."