PSG-Nîmes: a month after his arrival, Pochettino already has no more time

A month and already a lot of excitement.

Disembarked on January 2 in Paris, Mauricio Pochettino experienced in just 32 days a condensed of emotions which sums up quite well what awaits him at PSG.

Between the first title of his career won against OM during the Champions Trophy, the Covid-19 which forced him to coach from a distance for a week, and the unexpected 2-3 defeat on the field of Lorient last Sunday , “Poche” saw a very turbulent start to his mandate.

And it is precisely this last Lorient setback that the Argentine coach will have to repair, failing to be able to erase it.

Demoted to 3rd place in the standings, now 3 points behind Lille, leader of the championship, Paris does not really have time to get its feet in the carpet once again.

Even less against Nîmes, the red lantern visiting this Wednesday evening at the Parc des Princes (9 p.m.), when Lorient was in 19th place before defeating PSG.

In the event of a poor performance, Pochettino will not be able to shelter behind the cascade of absentees (7 in total) which inevitably recalls the worst weeks of the Thomas Tuchel era.

Even if the Argentinian will once again be deprived of his pillars Navas, Verratti, Marquinhos, injured, to which must be added Neymar suspended, a progression in the game of PSG is ardently desired after the pensum of Moustoir.

More influence in coaching

To hope to destabilize the Nîmes bloc - recently fallen OM by relying in particular on ultra-rapid offensive transitions - it will necessarily be necessary to close the spaces better, and above all an increase in ideas and inspiration.

In Morbihan, Kimpembe's partners stumbled on a 5-man defense by persisting in the axis, rather than favoring the corridors.

More variety therefore, more intensity and efficiency are also expected, like the real Mbappé fallen back into his mediocrity after his improvement in Montpellier.

The new Parisian coach will have to orchestrate all this, and be more influential in his coaching.

Sunday, he failed to respond effectively to the entry into play of Moffi and Wissa, the two players who rocked the match.

"It is a responsibility that I must assume," he agreed on Tuesday, once again pleading the accident.

We spoke with the players to find solutions.

We have to improve collectively, and not just in a sector of play. But in a month we have played a lot, and we have trained little.

It is therefore too early to take stock.

Because like any coach with his technical staff, we need time to put in place the philosophy that we want to transmit to the team.

"Time, however, Pochettino has hardly any.

While the Marseille volcano erupted, the Argentinian was already caught up by the pressure of the results.

Five days before the clasico, that promises!