In his press conference, the Aiglons’ coach was slightly disappointed with the final score but satisfied by the relentless effort of his players.

Patrick, how do you feel after this match?

There is a lot of frustration and questions also to be asked of the referee. The red card for Sacko is extremely harsh. I don’t understand it. I have watched it back and I don’t think that it is dangerous. This red card had a big impact on us. At eleven against eleven, we would have been much better.

How do you feel you played this evening?

On the whole, the first half was pretty sad, it was quite disappointing in terms of chances. It was better in the second half. For us, it was, of course, more complicated down to 10 but I can’t really criticise the players, they gave their all. Defensively, they were all very good. We weren’t missing much. I think that if we score the penalty, we stand a very good chance of winning the match. But we could equally have lost it when Falcao hit the post.

It was in fact Benitez who tipped it onto the post to deny Falcao!

Since Walter has been playing, it’s extraordinary. He really is a great goalkeeper. A large part  of our current league position is down to what he has done. It’s good for the team.

Do you think that the draw was fair in the end?

Monaco could have won at the end. In the first half, they had two chances where we put ourselves in danger by losing the ball. But Thierry can also be happy with the draw. There is still pride in having held on with 10 against 11. The players showed lots of desire, they didn’t want to lose, they doubled their efforts.

Between the match against Bordeaux and the game this evening, we get the feeling of an “energised” Gym…

… since the start of the season, yes (laughs). That is the strength of this team, we have a small squad, with players suspended, and others injured. Youngsters are playing and are putting in good performances. The club is going through some slightly difficult times but once agin, we showed solidarity, the union with our fans who were extraordinary for the 90 minutes. I take my hat off to them. This solidarity can also be found off of the pitch with the employees of the club. We need to support each other in order to get results like the one against Bordeaux or against Monaco this evening.

With a victory, you would have hit 32 points…

(he interrupts)… but we didn’t win. It is still a good point away from home, against a side in trouble and who really needed to win.

You had a long embrace with Thierry Henry, what did you say to each other?

Nothing special, we both just wished each other luck, that’s all.