The US Orléans football team will face Concarneau this Friday evening (7:30 pm) at La Source stadium for the 29th National day. The Orléans footballers are seventh but only 4 points behind the podium.
It is a match that could have an impact on the end of the season for US Orléans football. This Friday evening, with six games left to play, Orléans will host Concarneau at the Source stadium. The Yellow and Reds are seventh in National but only 4 points behind third-placed Rouen, who is not playing this weekend. USO therefore have a chance to close the gap with a victory. This does not interest US Orléans coach Hervé Della Maggiore, who is focused on “the mental aspect” of this end of the season, as he explained on Thursday at the press conference.
The calculations for rankings, the coach leaves them to the “statisticians.” “My role is not to calculate, to speculate on what might happen. Of course, it’s an important match but you don’t even need to be a coach to tell the players, I think they hear it enough from home, from their surroundings, from everyone,” said Hervé Della Maggiore, leaving the “statisticians” to do the meticulous calculations on the rankings.
US Orléans’ situation is rather comfortable, isn’t it? Not being in the top three and not even fighting to avoid relegation, six days from the end, is a rather enjoyable situation, according to Hervé Della Maggiore. “When you play to avoid relegation, it’s difficult, you can play with a bit of fear. When you are in the top two or three places, you may have some apprehensions about not making it. We have the chance (…) to still be in the running to achieve something in this championship, in a situation where only good things can happen to us. Whatever happens, we must make sure we enjoy the six remaining matches.”
The Orléans coach also appreciates the competition for third place and therefore a spot in the playoffs. “There are a lot of confrontations and it can only be beneficial. As long as there are teams in the running, there are stakes in every match and for us, it’s much better.” Note that Florent Sanchez and Grégory Berthier are unavailable due to injury. However, Youness Aouladzian, the midfielder signed last summer but injured his knee in August, is back in the squad. “In training, he is really good, and he’s a player I signed to bring some character, it’s perfect timing for this final stretch, to have a player like him, with the playing time he will have to take, but also within the locker room,” appreciated Hervé Della Maggiore.
