Philippe Clement (Monaco) wants “players ready for war”

“After the defeat against Lyon, you said that we had to choose the mentally strongest players for the last two days. What does this imply ? Can you clarify your thought?
It’s a normal thing. we approach the final sprint. We are in a period which is not stable during which we have lost too many points. It’s not just a quality choice, but we have to pick the strongest players in these circumstances. It’s very interesting to see the reactions of the players, to see those who are ready for war, to take these three points (against Rennes).

How does this translate to training? Do you feel the players are mobilized, aware of the risk of losing everything?
There is indeed this possibility of losing everything but also that of gaining everything. We still have our destiny in hand but it is clear that there can be no more excuses. We are still three points ahead of Rennes. We owe it to ourselves to be present in Rennes and to play a great match there, to perform well in all sectors, in all duels, both defensively and offensively. We will have to be concentrated, committed with intensity.

The latest away performances against the big teams in Lens (3-0 loss) or at Lyon (3-1 loss) were not conclusive. What makes it possible to affirm that this will not be the case in Rennes?
In the match against Lyon, we had a good first half. We could have scored the 2-0 goal, and the match would have been very different. We must now be able to push more like we do in training. We can say a lot of things, the most important is what we will do on the lawn of Rennes. I saw this week that the players are aware of the stakes.

Can you imagine next season without European competition? This is a hypothesis that seems credible today.
We can imagine all sorts of scenarios, it’s up to us to take matters into our own hands. If we only think about the negative scenario, this one will happen. It’s up to us to prove that we deserve to play in Europe. Competing in a European Cup is very important for the club, especially for all those who have worked hard. Not so long ago, we were aiming for the Champions League but we had to change our objectives. If the Europa League Conference interests us? Mourinho won this competition with AS Roma and he is very proud of it. Now the goal is to finish the Championship as strong as possible, take all the points and hold on to fourth place. »