On the bus taking Les Aiglons back to Geneva, from where they will fly back to Nice this evening, Patrick Vieira delivered his analysis of the friendly against FC Thoune (1-3 defeat), and more generally on the start of this summer period.

Coach, what did you make of this encounter?

We suffered physically in this match, which was played in difficult conditions. You have to take away the fact that we still have a lot of things to improve. We came up against a side that is a lot more ready than we are, because they begin their league campaign on Saturday. But in terms of the quality of our play, we could have done a lot better. We need to play it more simple, to try to unbalance the opposition. We have been able to see where we are lacking in these first two matches.

You used 23 players in the match this afternoon.

It was the plan for these first two matches. We are in full preparation mode and the players aren't yet ready to play 90 minutes. It's also the reason that we brought lots of youngsters with us, who deserve the chance to play with the first team. What's good is that we are coming off the back of two weeks where I am really happy with our physical, technical and tactical levels, even though there is still a lot more work to be done.

“Thuram has a huge desire to learn”

You notably gave Khephren Thuram his first minutes in the second half.

He is a player for the future, but he can put a lot of pressure on the players playing in the same position. He is a youngster with lots of qualities and a huge desire to learn and improve. It's down to us to place him in the best conditions to allow him to progress and challenge those already there.

Would you like to add anything else?

Yes, I would like to highlight the spirit of the young players who have been with us since the start of pre-season, like Eddy Sylvestre and Pedro Brazão, who are working very well. They are in the process of progressing. I want to take my hat off to them because despite the huge amount of physical work they have done, they never gave up. Quality isn't enough, you also need to show personality. And those who had the chance to play showed it today.

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