Habib Beye : « We lacked character »

Little cause for satisfaction

"There was only cause for satisfaction in the first half. We were caught cold, but then we remained the team we wanted to be by making an impact. We were present in their half. We knew we were going to suffer transitions, but it's still silly to concede that goal. We lacked precision and success. At half-time, I told them we had to keep going because the opposition was going to buckle. I'm a little bothered by the second half, we seemed resigned to the situation.

The goal conceded in the third minute

‘We were passive. It was a scenario we hadn't necessarily anticipated. It took us a few minutes to recover, but we came back into the game with several chances: Breel Embolo's header and Alidu Seidu's shot. We were a little less successful than in previous games.’

The difficulty of facing a low block

"We are clearly not as good as the others in this respect. Within the game, we lack technical precision in our connections. We have situations where we find our players out wide, but inside, we lack liveliness and precision. It's also linked to the profiles of our players. We have about twenty shots but few on target, we know we're lacking in that area. But we mustn't be resigned to it. We mustn't lose our determination because, at some point, these low blocks will also break down. It bothers me that we've dropped in intensity. It took a lot of energy to get where we were against Paris FC in Metz. It's a shame because I didn't see the desire to come back in the second half."

Put more attackers on?

"That's what we did today. We put a lot of players up front. Our starting system allowed us to be one of the best teams in Ligue 1 for three months. We tried to put a lot of players inside, but we had little space against a low block. We also lacked accuracy in our crosses. We're not going to put eight attacking players on the pitch either, because we also have to manage the transitions."

1 point out of a possible 6

"I've never defined a path based on an opponent and their ranking. I've always said that a match against Lorient wouldn't necessarily be easier than a match against Lens or Monaco. It's still a shame we didn't take advantage of these home games. It's a good reminder before we travel to Monaco. "

Leadership and motivation

"I expect much more leadership from certain players. I try to lead them, but I also need to see it on the pitch. The drop in intensity came early in the second half, even though there was a chance for Djaoui Cissé in particular. Lorient were also good offensively. They had as many shots on target as we did, even though we had many more attempts. We're going through a rough patch, so it's up to us to work hard to get back on track. We mustn't forget everything we've achieved so far. What is certain is that we need to go to Monaco with the same motivation we had in Lille. It's frustrating to see a team that lacked the character to go and get an equaliser, as we did against Le Havre. That's really what we mustn't lose."

The Monaco-Marseille-Lens series

‘It's a big challenge, which is good. These are teams that are known to be in the running with us. What's more, we'll be playing away from home. That gives us extra motivation, even though our motivation shouldn't depend on who we're playing.’