Last in Ligue 1 with eight points behind Auxerre, who plays against Nantes on Saturday, FC Metz knows that it would take an absolute miracle to avoid relegation to Ligue 2. Benoit Tavenot tries to keep his team focused but acknowledges the difficulty of the task.
The draw was within reach. FC Metz managed to worry Marseille but ultimately lost 3-1 at the Vélodrome, in the 29th round of Ligue 1. The result confirms the likely relegation of the club to Ligue 2: with 15 points, Metz is already eight points behind the playoff spot, held by Auxerre (who will face Nantes on Saturday).
“It’s very, very tough. I suffer, like many people at the club. We are punished for things we should do better. It reflects this season,” sums up Metz coach Benoit Tavenot on Ligue 1+. “They are beautiful goals but we concede them, due to our positioning. It’s unfortunate because there was a chance to unsettle this team tonight. Making mistakes like that in Ligue 1, at the Vélodrome, is complicated.”
“Simply to keep the players afloat, I battle all week”
The Metz players did not deserve to lose at the Vélodrome. But the coach believes that the gap, especially physical, was too large: “We put them in difficulty and the context also put them in difficulty. It’s tough in Marseille when things are shaky. We knew it, we had to make them doubt. We lacked a bit of quality in our recoveries at halftime, a bit of strength, passing, dynamism. There is still a strong athletic difference between Marseille’s players and ours. Overall, we lack strength in our movements. But we don’t give up. I know we disappoint, but we don’t give up.”
Joining in January, Benoit Tavenot could only see that his team was already convinced of relegation: “We are on edge, we simply have our limits. It’s a group that has heard, since the restart, that they will go down. The situation makes it mentally difficult. Simply to keep the players afloat, I battle all week. Since July, we have been saying that FC Metz will go down. We are experiencing a really really really tough season, and I have had two very tough months.” Next weekend, Metz will host Paris FC.
