OM coach Jean-Louis Gasset invited his team to “keep their feet on the ground” after their very clear 4-0 victory against Villarreal on Thursday in the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League. “We took an option. But there is a return match that will have to be managed. We have already seen reversals and I am well placed to know that sometimes, 4-0 is not enough,” said Gasset, who was the coach of Montpellier in 1998, when the Hérault club was beaten 5-4 at Marseille after leading 4-0 at the break.
“We keep our feet on the ground and we continue to work,” he assured. “I congratulated them on this match but I reminded them that in three days there is the championship and that we had to keep our feet on the ground. We have to remember where we were 15 days ago,” he repeated.
“What I liked was the first half. We decided to go after them, to increase the intensity. We did almost everything well, technically and tactically. It was perfect, against a very good team,” Gasset still said.
“In my first matches, there was always a small error, a wooden goal… This evening, we almost took a penalty again at the kick-off of the second period. It’s these small details that make the difference at a very high level. Staying focused and not conceding a goal must become a habit,” concluded Gasset.