OGC Nice head coach Patrick Vieira shares his analysis of his side’s first draw of the season, scoreless away to Bordeaux on Sunday.

Coach, do you have any regrets at the end of this match?

Yes, many regrets because we failed to score, despite all the chances we had. But on the other hand, I’m happy with the way we played.

What were the positives?

That we pressed our opponents high up the pitch and that we gave the ball carrier options for a pass. We are continuing to build on what we produced against Paris in terms of our play. Like last week, we played quite well today, but we didn’t take our chances and lacked a little slice of luck.

Hitting the post three times in a match doesn’t happen very often…

I don’t know if it’s rare, but we created chances, we were dangerous and played good football. We will work hard on being more clinical in front of goal, but when we create as many chances as we did today, it means we’re playing good football and that bodes well for the future.

‘RONY LOPES IS FEELING BETTER AND BETTER’

You played Rony Lopes in the heart of midfield. What did you think of his performance?

I was very happy. I knew he was capable of playing in midfield because of his technique that allows him to beat his man and play forward. He was very good, but that’s normal, he’s feeling better and better physically with each game and training. He had already come a long way in terms of his fitness, but we can see the progress he’s making each game. That’s great for us. Could this position be a long-term solution? Yes, it could. Long term, but also short term.

Alexis Claude-Maurice also produced an encouraging cameo…

Yes, I would like to have everyone available because we have some real talent in this squad. It’s up to me to play the players where they can show their talent. The introduction of Alexis Claude-Maurice was very encouraging. Flavius Daniliuc showed a lot of personality when he came on. Dan Ndoye, for his first start gave it everything. Evann Guessand came on and showed a lot of desire and character. We will keep working and keep improving and that is very encouraging for the future.

‘MORE PRESSURE ON THE BALL CARRIER’

You wanted more aggressiveness from your players. Did you get it today? 

Of course. I saw my players put a lot more pressure on the ball carrier. That saw us win a lot of ball high up in the opposition camp. It’s our players’ aggressiveness that enabled that. But unfortunately our attacking transitions weren’t quick enough and we didn’t always make the right choices.

Apart from the finishing, were you pleased with your players? 

I always want more because this squad has potential. We will keep working. We know what we’re lacking, but having the whole squad available and feeling physically fit will see us competing better and winning matches.

‘KASPER DOLBERG WAS NOT 100%’

Was Kasper Dolberg 100%?

No, he wasn’t 100%. It’s very difficult. He hasn’t trained for several days. He started the match and gave his all, but physically, you could see he wasn’t well and that’s why I substituted him.

A word on the performance of Amine Gouiri?

Amine lacked a bit of luck today. He adds a lot in attack because he can beat players one on one, cut inside and bring his teammates into the game. He also needs to keep working and improve his decision making. If he keeps going the way he is, he will improve quickly because he loves football and he loves being on the pitch, he’s very passionate about his job. He wants to progress, wants to improve and focuses on the details. It’s a pleasure to work with him. His teammates look for him a lot because he is always giving them an option. Dan Ndoye was too, just like Rony Lopes and Pierre Lees-Melou in the middle. Because of his ability to beat opponents and his technical ability, Amine gets a bit more ball than the others, but that’s not a problem, quite the contrary.

After two games without a goal, can the strikers start doubting a little?

No, there’s no doubt there. We are going to keep working in front of goal. But given the individual quality of the players, I have no doubt that with chances like today, we will score. We will keep working. I’m looking at the positives: we created a lot of chances and won the ball high up the pitch which caused the opposition problems. But in terms of finishing, we have enough players capable of scoring goals. I’m not worried about that.

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