League 3 programming, new staff for Stéphane Rossi, springboard club: the major projects of US Concarneau

1 The scheduling of Ligue 3 matches

The official scheduling of Ligue 3 matches, on Ligue 1 +, on Thursday evening (8:45 pm, the highlight of the day) and on Saturday afternoon (3 pm, the eight other matches), raises questions for the leaders of US Concarneau. “We won’t cry wolf, but we have questions about this scheduling,” reacts President Jacques Piriou. “Thursday evening can be annoying for the public, as it’s a bit late when you have to go to work the next day. And what about Saturday afternoon at 3 pm? It’s a big unknown. We are a bit skeptical about the feedback from our partners and spectators. Even in terms of parking, it might be complicated due to the stadium’s location in a commercial area,” the president continues. The financial aspect remains a sore point for Jacques Piriou: “We don’t have any financial return today. In Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, you can impose hours on them, there is no problem, they have television rights. But we have nothing.”

2 Stéphane Rossi’s contract extension

The extension of Stéphane Rossi’s contract for one season was announced by the club last week. A choice made in continuity for the Corsican coach, who has achieved the objectives set by his leaders: securing maintenance comfortably and promoting young players. “With the discovery of Ligue 3, Stéphane’s extension also prevents us from entering a complete upheaval at a time when many things will be moving,” justifies Jacques Piriou. “We asked Stéphane to build a new staff,” adds Francis Boudin. Pascal Laguillier (assistant coach), Ronan Nédélec (goalkeeper coach), and Joseph Léandri (physical trainer) are therefore leaving the professional team’s coaching staff. “We want to give Stéphane other means: new ideas, more modern methods,” agrees Francis Boudin. “The team is at the end of a cycle, part of it needs to be renewed.”

3 Ambitions for next season

As in several seasons in National, US Concarneau aims to secure maintenance “as quickly as possible” in Ligue 3, while also aiming to “reach the playoffs.” “In parallel, we have the objective of integrating young players from the academy but also other players from N2 and N3; we must be a stepping stone club. We would also like to bring more fans; take advantage of our new stand to give more pleasure to the spectators,” asserts Francis Boudin.

“Since we don’t have a training center, bringing young players here and giving them visibility is a strong point of the club,” adds Jacques Piriou. “Stéphane plays an important role, as he has not hesitated to part with his best players, and also takes pleasure in training and promoting them.” The stands of Guy-Piriou have often been the scene of boos towards the Concarneau players: “It’s true that lately, we haven’t been enjoying ourselves too much,” admits the president of USC. “But when we analyze the season, we had three long-term injuries (Kabongo, Mercier, and Viot), and one of our best players left during the winter transfer window (Samoura). We have a small squad, we are not Dijon or Sochaux, it’s a matter of very little things.”