It was the tense topic of the week. On Thursday, Patrick Vieira came to a press conference to close the story around Saint-Maximin. Two days before the trip to Amiens, the Gym’s coach also wanted to clarify the interest of Olympique Lyonnais in him.
The days go by and seem increasingly difficult for OGC Nice at the moment. Between inconsistent results and a management in full reconstruction, the clash between the coach and his young forward in recent days hasn’t helped. Facing this worrying situation, it was a calm Patrick Vieira who appeared in the press room early in the afternoon.
The question on everyone’s lips was the outcome of the slight distance spat between him and Allan Saint-Maximin. As usual, the Nice technician responded honestly to the journalists’ numerous questions: “This was resolved internally during a constructive discussion with the President, the player, his agent, and myself to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” he stated.
Patrick Vieira wanted to conclude the story, reminding that he is “Not in the mindset of sanction or suspension. We are in communication, exchange. We all left that meeting with a good feeling, hoping it won’t happen again.”
In a gesture of respect for the club, he added: “There is a protocol to follow and respect, it needs to be clear for everyone, it is also a way to send a strong message to the young academy players.”
Adrien Tameze explained having had, with the whole group, “a discussion with Allan. He understood, and it went very well. He hadn’t really realized the impact (…) We are still in a learning phase. The group is young. We lack experience in certain situations.”
Everything seems to be back in order, so Saint-Max, as he is nicknamed, should start the match against Amiens on Saturday.
Another topic addressed during the press briefing was the rumors linking him to Olympique Lyonnais. Indeed, according to Nice Matin, Jean-Michel Aulas had listed Patrick Vieira’s name in a shortlist in case of departure from the current holder of the position, Bruno Génésio. To which the main interested party responded with noticeable annoyance: “These rumors are unfounded and unhealthy for the club, which is going through difficult times in its restructuring.”
As he wished to reiterate, the former French international is fully invested in his coaching work at Nice. After last weekend’s disappointment in Angers (3-0), the Eagles will need to take advantage of this duel against a low-ranked Amiens side (17th) to reconnect with an away victory that has eluded them since November.
Regarding the match against Amiens: “We are seeking revenge. We want to win again. We need to rediscover the values that allowed us to get results a few months ago. We need to be better organized defensively (…) We struggled to find those attacking players to enable us to be much more dangerous. The injuries to Ganago and Myziane will be an additional problem.”
Both victims of ankle sprains, Ihsan Sacko and Danilo Barbosa are once again candidates for a place in the group.
Injured just before the trip to Angers (3-0 last Saturday), Myziane is treating a hamstring lesion. The former Lyon player will be forced to withdraw for this 26th day of L1, as will Ignatius Ganago, injured in the quadriceps in Anjou.
Yassine Said Hassane and Tanguy Barbancey
