Antoine Kombouaré (Nantes coach, beaten 2-0 in Brest and now relegated five days from the end of the season): “I am disappointed for the players. We have the feeling of having made a good start to the match, and there is this huge blunder (by Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont, editor’s note). We are all sad for Alban but this blunder hurts us. He is very disappointed, he has apologized several times to the group. But we all lose together. And the problem is that every weekend, it falls on a different player. Now that he’s made his mistake, he’ll be excellent next time. In the second period, we played with more panache. But the feverishness wins us, we feel it (…). There is waste in the last gesture. We could have played two hours and we wouldn’t have scored. We find ourselves relegated but I had warned my players for some time. This Coupe de France final blew our minds.
And the Nantes technician added: “Now we are there, we have to raise our heads, move forward and above all stay united. There are five matches left and three have to be won. (Guaranteed to stay as coach for these matches?) I have the energy, I have the strength, I have the urge. It will be interesting to see if we are capable, if we are strong. I am ready (…). I have confidence in my work, in my group, in my players. I know that on June 4, we will be in Ligue 1. Of course, today it’s complicated, it’s hard, but we’re not sick. I believe in it, otherwise I won’t be here. Players believe it too. They are in difficulty but they are not affected, we are not beaten down. If we were down, after our first period we could take six goals.