Habib Beye, the former pro and star consultant on Canal +, is acting on the bench of the Red Star after the dismissal of coach Vincent Bordot on Monday.
His great beginnings as a coach were sanctioned by a defeat against Villefranche (0-1), the 5th in 7 games for the Audonien club.
He returns at length to this first experience, when he should again become an assistant to the new coach who should soon arrive.
How have you been in the last few days and your appointment as interim coach of the Red Star?
I am primarily at the service of the Red Star.
This is the club that allowed me to be in training at the BEPF.
I was asked to take over, I did it with a lot of energy with the staff and the club.
We worked over these 4 days so that we found a team that has personality.
It was necessary to refresh the heads, it was not easy after the 6-0 in Annecy.
You can ask everyone.
I was convinced that we were going to win.
I had seen signals in this direction from the players and the club.
I don't think we deserved to lose but football is sometimes unfair.
How do you welcome this defeat?
The end of the evening is difficult.
It's the profession that wants that.
On the content, we should not lose.
We are penalized on a single error, against a very good team from Villefranche, who are confident, who are used to playing together.
We can always do better.
But this match proves that we have still done a good job since June 28.
Being able to offer what we have proposed by assimilating a new system in 4 days after what we have experienced, that remains positive.
What did you say to the players during your chat?
My message is to say that we have implemented a common idea of work this week. There was a well-defined framework and game plan. And then, insist on the state of mind. When you are facing a group which remains with a heavy defeat - and I lived it as a player - the important thing is to restore their confidence very quickly. It was not my goal to revolutionize everything by working 4 days with this group. What I wanted was to put them in the best possible conditions, so that they could be released. At the end of the talk, I told them to be themselves. They weren't playing for me, they were playing for them and the Red Star. To play for them is to rediscover the personality and the carefreeness of their beginnings. I told them :try to reflect on the passion you had when you were 9 and have a blast. It was not me who was going to make them win even if I was going to try to give them tools.
You also made strong choices in your composition ...
I am not one of those coaches who think that psychological shock has a lasting interest.
He just has a one-time interest.
Yes, I made choices and I accept them.
I am very happy with what the players have produced.
Once again, learning a new system in such a short time is encouraging.
I liked the state of mind of a Bosca, an offensive that I put in a more defensive position.
With such behavior, we are able to build.
I am convinced that this group will quickly return to victory.
Did this first experience make you want to continue?
The rule is clear, I cannot change or circumvent it. I am in training, I do not have the right to practice as a head coach, on the bench of a National team with pro status. I didn't need this match to know that this coaching job was for me. But he takes his time. I have received a lot of encouragement this week. For four years, I have built my life and made sacrifices for the obsession to coach. But coaching takes an investment 24 hours a day. This season I'm 13 weeks in training so it's not yet the time. I take this opportunity to thank the director of training at Clairefontaine who allowed me to miss a day on Tuesday when normally we are not allowed. But he understood my problem and that of the Red Star.
Are you going to be consulted on the choice of the new coach?
I do not know.
There was an urgent need to be united.
After, we'll see ... As when I was a player, the questioning is permanent for me.
I am obsessed with work.
But that's the case with all coaches.
And from Saturday morning, I go back to work.
I have lived the past few days with serenity and calm.
We lost, I hate defeat but I still draw some positive from this match.
