COUPE DE FRANCE – Pierre Talmont, Vannes OC coach: facing PSG “We are not going to park the bus above all”

Pierre Talmont, as the match against Paris approaches, how do you feel about your group?

PT: No pressure, no tension either, just excitement. The players are quite calm and serene. It will rather be at the time of the match, I hope they will not have their heads in the stars.

And more personally?

PT: I was born in Vannes, I played in Vannes during its very good hours and I was appointed coach last July. I was told eight months ago that I was going to play a 16th in the Coupe de France against PSG à la Rabine (the Vannes OC stadium, editor’s note) I would have had trouble believing it. It is rewarding and difficult to hope for better.

You are going to face a squad with players who have already won everything, how do you approach that?

PT: I’ll realize that when we see them on the pitch. We are going to play against champions that some of my players are fans of. There will perhaps be the Ballon d’Or and the future Ballon d’Or on the field, European champions, world champions … we will see them in Vannes whereas we are used to seeing them at the TV.

You talk about being a fan, shouldn’t you be careful not to respect PSG too much at the risk of getting through the match?

PT: Here we are in the shoes of the “little one”. We have already seen that in a match the little one can beat the big one. Well there it is sure that we are attacking the out-of-category, it is the PSG. You have to respect them but also look them straight in the eye and tell them “Today I will do everything to put you in difficulty“. We have 90 minutes to do something, hoping that the Parisians will be on vacation a little longer, in quotes.

How are you going to approach the game?

PT: Paris, to say that they have weak points, that would be pretentious and inappropriate on our part. We will try to play on a lack of defensive withdrawal on their side, because technically we will have trouble competing. Above all, we’re not going to park the bus, it’s the best way to concede chances and take goals. Try to have a compact block, not too low on the ground and be smart in holding the ball to make the Parisians run. If we get it back and we play too fast forward, it will keep coming back like a boomerang.

What does the meeting represent for the club?

PT: If we really want to mark the history of the club, we have to qualify! It would be an earthquake. Eliminate PSG with all its shooting stars … for the moment we are not there but we will do everything to give ourselves hope and ensure that there is a match and a suspense. Give it their all and give the audience a real, tight cup match with twists and turns. We must not spoil the party.

You are not going there to play a gala match.

PT: It’s a gala match for the club and the people around it. We have a game to play and I know from experience that after the holidays there are surprises. Ligue 1 who are eliminated by inferior clubs because they come back from vacation, they have little training and they feel less concerned. Playing them in November or February is more complicated. I think there is reason to shake them up.

There was debate on the holding of the match at the Rabine stadium, for security reasons. In the end, this is where it will be played out, are you satisfied with it?

PT: It’s an advantage. With the gauge at 5000 people, if we had played in Lorient or Rennes the stadium would have been empty. There it will be festive, there will be an atmosphere, we will have our bearings.

This match is the opportunity to shed light on Vannes OC, which has the ambition to set foot in the National?

PT: A match against PSG highlights. Our club experienced the professional level between 2008 and 2011, it made a Coupe de la Ligue final in 2009. It makes people talk about the club so it’s good for the people who work here, the supporters, and so on. It’s a big spotlight.