Like a step backwards for the Greens and Julien Sablé.
Four years after donning the club's head coach costume, for an experience as fast as it was disappointing, the former AS Saint-Etienne midfielder from 1998 to 2007 (340 games, 12 goals), who was part of the assistants by Claude Puel, finds the position of number 1, this Saturday evening (9 p.m.), in Reims.
A week after another stinging defeat at home against Rennes (0-5) and the dismissal of the former Nice coach, the 41-year-old technician is therefore offered a second chance, pending a new one. chief technician.
In November 2017, after the resignation of Oscar Garcia, now on the bench of his evening opponent, Julien Sablé had indeed taken over the interim.
Six days later, and still without the slightest victory, he had finally given way to Jean-Louis Gasset.
Read also League 1: after the dismissal of Claude Puel, what future for ASSE?
Undoubtedly not sufficiently prepared for this period, the firefighter of the Greens has since gained experience in an assistant role in contact with the various coaches appointed, from Gasset to Puel via Ghislain Printant.
In May 2020, he also passed his DEPF, the professional trainer diploma, compulsory to train on the benches of Ligue 1.
Khazri appointed captain in place of Camara
Asked about his state of mind before this new experience in an extremely difficult climate, after the nightmarish first part of the season for the Greens, good last with 12 points and only 2 wins in 17 days, Julien Sablé did not want to think about the possible personal consequences: “I am a competitor. What we are going through goes beyond the individual. The collective framework is the most important today. A great team is in great danger. I cannot say on a daily basis that I am a kid of the club and think of my little person. I just want to give the maximum with the staff to get the club out of this situation. My future is the match in Reims, ”he declared on the club's official website.
Among the first strong choices, the French technician entrusted the captain's armband to his Tunisian striker Wahbi Khazri.
“It is in no way a choice against Mahdi Camara
(the former captain),
it is for him, for the group.
Wahbi is used to the armband he wears with Tunisia, Mahdi needs to refocus on his performance, "explained Julien Sablé, who also designated" a major five "with which he builds decision-making.
Romain Hamouma, Ryad Boudebouz, Timothée Kolodziejczak, Mahdi Camara and Wahbi Khazri compose it with the ambition, too, to revive the Greens.