Discover Adrian Ursea’s reaction to his side’s draw with Metz (1-1).

How would you analyse tonight’s match?

I think that we had a really good first half. We managed to put in place everything that we had prepared. It’s extremely satisfying. Unfortunately, in the second half, at times, we lost control of the ball and the match. They were able to make the most of it, but I think that on the whole, we weren’t really troubled. In the second half, we could and should have been more ruthless and scored the second goal that could have put the game beyond doubt.

The fact that you "dropped off": was that physical or mental?

In periods like this, we are maybe a little too easily contented with what’s in the bag. We stopped playing as we had done in the first half. From the chances that we had, we weren’t able to be ruthless in front of goal. Then of course, you know football. Even if the opponent hasn’t put you under pressure, it only takes one or two chances. In periods like this, you get the feeling that every ball that could fall for us, falls to the opponent and then, quite simply, we got punished. Despite the result, I think that we put in a coherent performance in terms of what we wanted to put in place.

Your team showed another side of themselves compared to the match against Brest...

Against Brest, we also played some interesting stuff. I would say that we have progressed further since the match against Brest, but not that we showed another side of ourselves, we haven’t gone from one extreme to another. We continue to work. Against Brest, we pretty much gave the two goals to the other side. I stick to my analysis: when you are coherent with what you want to achieve, that is the path to take in order to hope to get a result that turns in your favour.

For you, which player played his cards right tonight?

It was the team’s performance that was interesting, there is no one player that shone brighter than any other. I really liked the spirit of the team, the desire to put in place what we had set up, to be coherent with what we asked and above all, to correct those details that have been costing us dearly. The players played simply, they didn’t complicate things. It’s very difficult to play against Metz, we have seen their previous matches: they often man mark and it’s very difficult to move the team. In the first half, I think we did very well in that area.

What have you made of William Saliba’s first week in Nice?

You have seen the same as me: he is showing more and more personality. I really liked his performance, just as I did at Brest. For a young player who will soon turn 20 years old, coming into a new team knowing just two or three players and directing the defence in the way he does, it gives good hope for what is to come.

Le Gym end the first half of the season (with a game in hand, editor’s note) ten points off fifth place…

The next match will be the most important, we are taking things step by step to recapture our calmness and confidence. It’s our goal. And we will sit down and do the maths at the end. It’s down to us to find the means to be more ruthless and to win matches.

---