“
Since Saint-Etienne will be maintained, it is because everyone will have given the best of themselves.
We must look to the present and the future [...] In this difficult exercise of maintenance, there will be success only if it is shared.
The situation is complicated.
“As soon as he was presented on December 15, 2021, Pascal Dupraz – who had just succeeded Claude Puel on the AS Saint-Etienne bench – was aware of the difficult task he inherited.
He knew he had to recreate a positive dynamic at all costs to get the Greens out of torpor, from their negative spiral, they who were then dead last in Ligue 1. Three months later, the Saint-Etienne club relaunched.
He now occupies the position of play-off and has every reason to believe in maintaining it.
A rebound of which the Haut-Savoie coach is the main architect.
To discover
Calendar and results Ligue 1
League 1 standings
Read alsoAt the bedside of the Greens, Pascal Dupraz puts on the boots of the firefighter on duty
Trust as a foundation
When he arrives in Forez, Pascal Dupraz discovers a workforce undermined by poor results, plagued by doubt, almost beaten down.
One of his first missions was to restore confidence in this group, a large part of which was still young.
To do this, he intends to rely on "
simple words
", as he announced during his press conference, well aware that insurance is one of the most determining factors of performance: "
Confidence , it's already at least 50% of the performance.
This individual confidence will reflect on the collective.
If I thought that this workforce could not be maintained, I would not be there, it is obvious
, "he explained to journalists,
Read also“We will maintain ourselves”: new coach of the Greens, Dupraz launches his seduction operation
Obviously, the 59-year-old technician has won his bet.
His method has worked with some players, like Denis Bouanga, in fine form since his return from the African Cup of Nations.
“
I asked myself a lot of questions in the first part of the season, and I found my football at the CAN.
Its a question of confidence.
We had a long discussion with the coach a week before I left for CAN.
He told me he would trust me and I'm trying to give him back on the field
, ”confided the Gabonese striker last week.
And it is enough to look at the images of communion or the solidarity which emerges on the ground during ASSE matches to understand that this individual confidence has rebounded on the collective, exactly as theorized by the
SEE ALSO -
ASSE's victory against Clermont Foot (1-2)
The support of the Green People regained
Restoring confidence to your players is often not enough to revive a group in difficulty.
They also need to feel supported by all strata of the club, and in particular by the public.
That's good, in Saint-Etienne, the "Green people" are always boiling to give way in the Cauldron, as outside.
Problem: during the first part of the season, the Saint-Etienne supporters, frustrated by the poor results of their team, did not hesitate to express, sometimes vigorously, their dissatisfaction.
As soon as he took office, Pascal Dupraz knew that he had to rely on this twelfth man to restart the machine.
"
The supporters, an ally who can save us at least ten points
," he said.
Read alsoLigue 1: “With this audience, we feel stronger”, appreciates Dupraz (Saint-Etienne)
Again, it is clear that the Haut-Savoyard has succeeded.
If the Saint-Etienne fans, by their various actions, seemed to "oppose" their club during the last weeks of Claude Puel, they are now all as much as they are fully behind their team.
Through his statements, his behavior, and his good results, Pascal Dupraz gave hope to the public of Forez.
He managed to drag it into the same adventure as its workforce: operation maintenance.
And it wasn't just fleeting.
Several weeks after his induction, the native of Annemasse still relies on them: "
I know that the supporters come in large numbers, if they can help us from the warm-up, we need you.
“, he asked this Thursday at a press conference, before facing Troyes this Friday (9 p.m.).
Then adding frankly but also with a touch of “seduction”: “
If we are maintained and there are still matches at Geoffroy-Guichard, maybe if I am authorized, I would like to attend a match in the Kops.
Except the descent!
Besides, I love to sing!
".
Read alsoLigue 1: “We turn the counter” underlines Dupraz (Saint-Etienne)
A transfer window centered on experience and determination
Succeeding in rallying the entire club behind the same objective - namely to save themselves - is essential.
However, it is on the ground that the future of AS Saint-Etienne is taking shape.
The workforce was certainly full of promise, talent, enthusiasm - youth in short - but the team was still not ready for the commando mission that awaited it.
As a good leader, Pascal Dupraz had analyzed it well and logically asked for reinforcements in January.
During this winter transfer window, the Greens recorded several good arrivals: Paul Bernardoni and Sada Thioub, both from SCO Angers, Enzo Crivelli, landed from Basaksehir or Eliaquim Mangala, Joris Gnagnon and Bakary Sako, all three without a club .
Read alsoLigue 1: “We must hurry to recruit to strengthen the team”, warns Dupraz
These players have similar characteristics.
All without exception are fairly experienced players, accustomed to playing at the highest level, at least in the first division.
For his part, Eliaquim Mangala has even rubbed shoulders with the heights of football, on the one hand in club with Manchester City but on the other hand in the national team with his eight caps with the France team.
Moreover, most of them were vindictive and had things to prove.
Exactly what Pascal Dupraz wanted to strengthen his troops: "
We preferred these profiles than young people with high potential who can disappear as soon as they are put on the bench
“, he assured after the arrivals of Paul Bernardoni and Sada Thioub, who quickly accumulated playing time. All these recruits are important: they bring experience, on and off the field, but also a surplus of motivation to an already well-reinforced group.
Read alsoDupraz, Buffalo Grill and “spy” supporter of the Greens: the astonishing anecdote of the winter transfer window
Leaders at the rendezvous
In his quest for maintenance, Pascal Dupraz has also made sure to bring out (or reappear) leaders;
vocal leaders, leaders by example, technical leaders.
Without citing them all, we can at least mention three of them.
Starting with Eliaquim Mangala, who only played five games in his new jersey but who directly established himself as the boss of the defense but also as one of the strong men in the locker room.
Timothée Kolodziejczak, as far as he is concerned, inherited the captaincy;
he whose first part of the season was so delicate that he found a place among our flops in the middle of the championship.
This armband seems to have done him some good.
Read alsoLigue 1: “We turn the counter” underlines Dupraz (Saint-Etienne)
Finally, under the orders of the Haut-Savoyard, Denis Bouanga appears to have regained his best level.
Always very active on the lawn, the ex-Nîmes has often lacked accuracy in the last or penultimate gesture.
But since his return from CAN, he has been decisive.
As proof, in the last five matches, he has two assists and two goals, including the decisive one in the oh so important victory against FC Metz (1-0).
It is certain that Pascal Dupraz will again expect a lot from him this Friday evening, at the start of the 29th day of Ligue 1, in the shock of the bottom of the table between ASSE and ESTAC.
Because in the event of a defeat against a direct competitor, the momentum of Saint-Etienne could be greatly slowed down.