Check out what Francesco Farioli had to say after Le Gym's win over Toulouse in their Ligue 1 Round 13 clash on Sunday (1-0).

Coach, despite several absences, the recipe remains the same: you're as solid as ever, with another 1-0 victory...

The answer is in the question. For the umpteenth time, the lads played a really special game. We knew it would be complicated after the international break; we had a few injured and suspended players, so we knew it would be difficult. We didn't play our best game of the season. We were sluggish in the first half. We came back in the second half with a better frame of mind and more desire to go and get this win. It's a reward for what the lads have been doing all week, in training and in matches.

We saw Terem Moffi and Gaëtan Laborde swap places during the match, was that your choice?

I had a feeling during the match. I was hoping that the change would alter the dynamic of the game. We were struggling to keep the ball up front and their centre-backs were very aggressive. I thought that a slightly more mobile player like Gaëtan could counter them and that Terem could attack from deep. They were able to adapt straight away and find the right positions with and without the ball. I'm delighted with Terem's goal, it's been a long time since he scored. It's a result that rewards everyone's efforts, the starters as well as the substitutes - who made an important contribution in this difficult match, during which we struggled.

You're the only team keeping pace with PSG. You've opened up a big gap on Monaco, which is probably important even if you don't like talking about the standings?

We've managed to build up a bit of a cushion over certain teams, but the league season still has a long way to go. We're going to have our work cut out, starting with the next game at Nantes, which will give us a tough time. And then when we get back from the winter break, there's the African Cup of Nations, which will require a lot of our players. We need to pick up points like we did today, with desire and determination.

Carles Martinez Novell, Toulouse's coach, felt that he had given you more trouble than usual.

Toulouse are a team that scored five goals against Liverpool, even though two were disallowed due to refereeing decisions. We knew they had the ability to create chances and to get into the box with their organisation and the quality of their players. We worked hard, from Marcin (Bułka) to Pablo (Rosario), who had another tremendous game, to resist their attacking potential. Khephren (Thuram) also had a great game, making interceptions and saving off the line. Romain Perraud, Tom Louchet and Antoine Mendy also made a great defensive contribution. These lads give everything on the pitch. If we manage to upset our opponents on the pitch, it's thanks to the lads' state of mind. At yesterday's pre-match meeting, we showed an extract from the interview Pablo Rosario gave to the club's media. In it, he talks about our five months together. We really are what he described in the video. I invite you to watch it and imagine, every time he says 'I', that he's saying 'we' - he speaks for the whole club. I think there's no better way to describe what this club does than to listen to what Pablo said during this interview. But now that we've finished celebrating the victory, we're already looking ahead to the next game.

Can you tell us about Sofiane Diop, who seemed injured when he came off?

Sofiane was injured in the last few minutes of the first half. We think it's a pretty serious injury, because it was very painful. I spoke briefly with the doctor and we're going to take 48 hours to find out what's wrong and make a more precise analysis. I hope it's as minor as possible.

What about Alexis Claude-Maurice's performance?

He came on with a lot of drive, his talent and his ability to read the game. He was dynamic, courageous on the ball, strong enough to win duels and protect the ball with verve. He gave us a lot and played a very consistent 45 minutes. I hope that, after his troubled start to the year, this will kick-start his season, for him as a player but also as a man. We're going to need him.

You have the best defensive record in Europe, having conceded just four goals. How do you explain it?

The first thing for the defence is the state of mind, the desire to go the extra mile, to win a challenge. We concede very few goals but when we do let one in, we know how to get back into the game. Today, I don't know how many shots were turned away by our midfielders. Everyone's doing their bit. The rest is work, organisation and attitude. The goal came after Melvin Bard won the ball high up the pitch. It's a mixture of several things; we have lads who give everything on the pitch. In his interview, Pablo talked about leaving his heart out on the pitch. That's our strength and that's what we have to keep up until the end of the season. We don't work for the statistics, but to be concrete, match after match. We're concentrating on the present and the future, not on what we've done in the past.

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