Franck Haise spoke following the Europa League draw which took place on Friday lunchtime.

Coach, what do you make of the draw?
First of all, there are going to be 8 countries and certainly 8 different types of football. Playing Rangers at home, Real Sociedad, Lazio... They're great fixtures, different games. I know the Norwegian club (Bodø/Glimt) well, as I know their best player, Patrick Berg. The Swedish club (Elfsborg) aren't very well known but they work well. We're very happy to be experiencing this and sharing it with our supporters.  We're hoping to do well in this mini-league.

Does Europe have a bit of a different flavour?
Yes. Our daily bread, which is important, puts us up against the best French teams. But when you discover other types of football, other countries, other cultures and another competition - in this case the Europa League - you want to show the best of OGC Nice and go there with ambition.

In terms of squad dynamics, it must be wonderful to be out on the pitch every three days, fuelled by the heat of the competition...
When you're a competitor, whether you're a player or a coach, there are sometimes difficult moments with complicated emotions to deal with, but they're also magnificent moments. I'm involved in football, I love football, I'm passionate about it, because there's the game and then there's the competition. When you can play every three days, switch from one competition to another and try to show the best version of yourself, it's incredible. For the players, it's great. For them, the pre-season is fine, the 6 or 7 weeks are necessary, but what they're waiting for is the competition. We're going to need around twenty players and everyone will have to be up to scratch to be able to play a series of matches, because it's going to be one Sunday and Thursday after another for several months.

Were there any signs of excitement among your staff and players this week ahead of the draw?
From what I've sensed and from the discussions we've had, I've sensed it in the players today. The staff and I had been talking about it for 2 or 3 days. This morning, we took stock of the last teams to qualify. We took a fairly close look at the different pots. We had our predictions, the opponents we all wanted to play and the stadiums. But it was good not to talk about it too much beforehand, because we mustn't forget that we have a very important match at Angers (Sunday at 5pm). A match that will count for a lot.

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