Having shaken off a bit, Monaco coach Philippe Clement defended his record in a press conference on Friday, two days before the shockwave against OM in Ligue 1 (Sunday 8:45pm).
Philippe Clement faces his first upset since being named to the bench at Monaco on January 4, 2022. The ASM side lost to Lorient (16) and Bordeaux (20), and lost to Reims (13) last weekend before being knocked out in the French Cup semi-finals. Foot by FC Nantes (2-2, 4-2 on pens) on Wednesday.
When asked on Friday at a press conference about this poor record, the Belgian technician defended himself by asking about the time: “I’ve only been here eight weeks, it’s not much. We can evaluate the coach’s work after six months. It is impossible to judge him after two months with matches. Every weekend, with infections and Covid cases…”
“I don’t feel any pressure because the captains watched the matches”
Clement highlights the unfavorable conditions to explain the poor performance of his team, which has not won the Ligue 1 since February 5: “There were positive things in the match but the success was not, the conditions were against us. The two goals of his team (Voland) against Reims, Sidibe against Nantes Exceptional, the two red cards (Chwamini vs Bordeaux, Jean Lucas vs Reims), they’re special too. In the last four games, we’ve been the team that had chances, but not success. If the players continue with the same enthusiasm, the same energy, the same desire as the case Now, we shall reap the fruits. Fruits soon, I am sure.”
While Monaco are in ninth place, with nine points from the Champions League qualification spots, with only a dozen games left, Philippe Clement does not consider himself in danger: “I don’t feel any pressure because the leaders have been exposed. We watched the matches. We lacked success in the results but anyone Watching our last four games knows we could have scored 9 points out of 9 and made it to the cup final. We didn’t but everyone here sees the players working every day.”
The former Club Brugge boss (2019-2022) is not worried that his leaders will give him the required six months to prove himself: “I think I have a longer contract than that,” he recalls, who is linked to the principality club. Until 2024.
Asked about the criticism emerging from Monaco supporters, the Belgian confirmed that “the players (have) done their best every day”. “Football is not a PlayStation game, it’s not like basketball or volleyball where when you are better, you win.” Philippe Clement also highlighted Monaco’s good start in 2022: “There have been some very good matches like in Lens (win 4-2), against Lyon (2-0), we did several clean sheets… There are always things to improve. Things aren’t perfect but they aren’t too bad either. You have to look at the games objectively and not just the results.”
