Lorient vs Lens preview - Lorient back Ripoll to turn tide
Posted Saturday, November 22, 2014 by PA
Under-fire Lorient coach Sylvain Ripoll has the backing of club president Loic Fery as he leads his side into Saturday's crucial clash with fellow strugglers Lens.
Ripoll took over from Christian Gourcuff in the summer but after only three wins from 13 games in charge, his side prop up Ligue 1.
With Lens just a point ahead in 19th place, both sides will be desperate for victory at the Stade du Moustoir - but Fery played down the pressure on his coach.
He told Le Telegramme: "We made the choice of Sylvain Ripoll, the directors of the club really wanted to work with him because he breathes FC Lorient and I liked his project.
"We certainly did not expect to be 20th at this stage of the season but today, changing coach does not seem to me to be the appropriate response."
Recent games have brought a 2-1 win over Evian in the Coupe de la Ligue, a half-time lead before losing 2-1 to two-time reigning champions Paris St Germain and a narrow 1-0 defeat to seventh-placed Rennes.
And Fery continued: "The remedy is for the team to play against all teams the way they showed themselves capable of doing against PSG or at Monaco (where they won 2-1 on the opening day of the league season).
"The tendency in the last three matches is positive and we must confirm this recent progress. With a series of victories, the team will regain the confidence necessary to be competitive in the league."
Captain Wesley Lautoa is suspended for Saturday's game and Raffidine Abdullah (hamstring) and Julien Quercia (metatarsal) also miss out, but Mathieu Coutadeur is fit after a hip problem.
Lens coach Antoine Kombouare told his club's website: "It is a match against a direct rival, for three points. If Lorient win, they will not be safe.
"We want to win this game against Lorient, who like us are in trouble. We do not want to relaunch Lorient."
Regarding the challenge of playing on the Moustoir's synthetic pitch, he added: "You have to play quickly, get forward and play on the ground.
"It will be cold and wet and the synthetic pitch will make the ball run quicker. We need to control the game."
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