Imaginative Sage prepares for PSG test

RC Lens manager, Pierre Sage, is planning to pull off an upset against European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the rescheduled Ligue 1 clash. 

This is a gala match but without stakes, rescheduled for Wednesday as PSG are mathematically the champions of the Ligue 1 again, with two matches left.

Sage, who is freshly elected as the best coach of Ligue 1, expressed his delight at the award and was happy to see all the staff members again.

“ This award is also for them. For now, we haven’t had time to do anything together, but we’ll definitely do something; they won’t miss me, just as I won’t miss them, because I can’t include them in the award and not involve them in it. So we’ll see about that in due time, but I really want us to celebrate other, much more important things before the French Cup final on May 22nd against OGC Nice.

Speaking at the press conference ahead of the crunch tie, the tactician said he won’t rotate his squad against PSG this Wednesday in preparation for the Coupe de France final as many fans had already bought tickets to witness a right game.

There had been a protest by the club after the LFP postponed the match originally scheduled for April 11th.

 With respect to those commitments, Sage expects a good match against the best team in the world, as they try to compete with them and get closer to them. 

“So no, we won’t pull a Marseille stunt with the youngsters (*). We’ll be focused on preparing for the final with this match, which will be an important element for us. And, as I said, we want to be among the teams that really gave PSG a hard time until the very end. In my experience as a young coach, this is the first time I will be able to play against PSG at home (he has already faced the Parisians four times at the Parc).

Thanking Luis Enrique for his congratulatory messages sent to him, Sage expressed appreciation to him for his kind words, both to him and especially to the team.

“He said that the two best teams in the league will face each other tomorrow (Wednesday). For me, that’s already a reward when the best coach in the world considers that,” he added.

He added that he is learning from great coaches like Enrique, and what they manage to do in terms of team organisation, variety, and flexibility are all good practices. 

As these inspire and motivate, he said he finds many answers to questions in what he does. 

Lauding PSG for the level of autonomy and maturity they have, Sage said, that as soon as they implement certain variations, they manage to apply them effectively.

“You can’t react, you have to anticipate. That’s why it’s important to be one step ahead when you play against them. I’ve already tried a few in the past, and they didn’t work. I’m going to try to be a bit more imaginative and effective this time,” he said.

Sage will be hoping to win with this imaginative approach as he prepares to at least postpone the trophy celebration of the Paris club till the last few days of the season.