Toulouse vs Nice preview - Arribage enjoying Toulouse stint - 7M sport

Toulouse vs Nice preview - Arribage enjoying Toulouse stint



Posted Saturday, May 23, 2015 by PA

Dominique Arribage admits he has acquired a taste for management since being drafted in to keep Toulouse in Ligue 1 two months ago.

Arribage has succeeded in his mission ahead of Saturday's final match of the season against Nice - another team who battled the drop successfully.

When Toulouse sacked Alain Casanova in March, the appointment of Arribage, who had never been a head coach and was working in player recruitment, came as something of a shock, not least to the man himself, but he has enjoyed the results.

"It is a very rich business, with many emotions and responsibilities," he said on the club website.

"It gives a lot and takes a lot. My life is much fuller than before and more intense."

Toulouse's future in the top flight was assured last weekend despite a 2-1 loss to the 10 men of Guingamp, as Evian lost to St Etienne.

Arribage took over with the club in 18th place but oversaw four wins in eight to steer them to safety, including impressive wins over Bordeaux, Montpellier and Lille.

Nice secured their own future with a win over already-relegated Lens last weekend, adding a little drama as they came from behind to do it.

Given how tight matters have been at the foot of the table, that result was enough to vault them up to 12th place, and Mathieu Bodmer wants to take the chance to finish even higher on Saturday.

"We still have to finish the season," he said on the club's website.

"We have the opportunity to win another place still. I think it would be good for the club and the players to finish in 11th. There is a financial goal for the club, and for our part, we want to start our holidays after a win."

Nice got themselves into trouble with an ill-timed four-match winless run prior to last weekend's win, the build-up to which was marred by fan protests.

"Things looked chaotic from the outside," Bodmer said.

"But if we win against Toulouse and results go our way, we can finish 11th with 48 points.

"That will not be too bad a season, although I think we could have done better. We must not forget we have a young squad, players who have played their first season in Ligue 1, and others who are still learning."



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