Jocelyn Prêcheur: "The girls will want to give their all in front of our fans"
On the eve of the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage match against AS Roma on match day 3, Paris Saint-Germain coach Jocelyn Prêcheur answered questions from PSG TV and the media. Here are some extracts.
Medical update
"Sandy's (Baltimore) progress is pretty good, she'll be back with the group today. We'll be able to decide whether she'll play a few minutes tomorrow or not. For Laurina (Fazer), her sprain is serious and she won't be playing again this year. As for Jackie (Groenen), we're holding out a little hope that she'll be up and running tomorrow, but we'll know more this afternoon. For Tara (Elimbi Gilbert), there's no fracture, so she'll be in for a test this afternoon. Finally, Constance (Picaud) is no longer in pain, so she should be back playing soon."
Areas for improvement
"We need to focus a bit more on ourselves. Admittedly, we lack consistency, but we've shown that when we can express ourselves, we can be dangerous. We're expecting strong opposition, but we've got quality and talent, so we need to focus on that. I'm confident we can win."
the match against AS Roma
"We have to win this match, we don't have a choice after the first two results. What's certain is that we can plan everything for tomorrow, but if we\re not mentally ready to outclass our opponents and win the battles then planning doesn't mean anything. State of mind is essential. I'm sure that the girls will want to give their all in front of our fans, in our stadium. The state of mind will determine the rest."
Shirley Cruz joins the staff
"Shirley ticks all the boxes that I was looking for. She'll be able to liaise with the girls in the dressing room. When you come in from abroad, it's hard to adapt, so she can also bring that to us, as she speaks three or four languages. It was a priority for me to continue building the staff. She's coming back to the club but this time from the other side of the curtain, so it's something she'll be discovering more about. But I'm convinced that she's going to bring a lot to the table for the second half of the season."
The winter transfer window
"In the short term, with the January deadline looming, we've been talking to the directors about strengthening certain areas. I know that the management are working on the market and the second half of the season, hoping to be able to strengthen. Right now, we're just focusing on this busy week."