Reaction: Hutter reflects on a positive campaign following AS Monaco’s final fixture

In a game where Soungoutou Magassa’s 52nd-minute red card was a key turning point in deciding the outcome, Adi Hutter shared his thoughts after AS Monaco’s 4-0 loss to RC Lens to end their campaign and looked back on what’s been a very positive season overall.

Lens debrief

To start with, the experienced manager was full of praise for Lens, who ran out deserved winners on the night.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate Lens, because it was a deserved victory for them. The red card obviously had a big impact, even though I didn’t like the way we played in the first half. We didn’t want to lose this match, and we were expecting a completely different game,” explained the Austrian tactician.

“For me they were simply better, even if we had chances to score with Eliesse (Ben Seghir), Takumi Minamino and George Ilenikhena. After the expulsion of Soungoutou Magassa, the match did not go in the right direction for us unfortunately. And then it must be said that we finished with a lot of youth, like Saimon Bouabre and Lucas Michal. We had a hard time, but I repeat, Lens deserved their victory.

“It’s obvious that fatigue played a role, as we’re finishing a very trying season, even though I wanted to see some players who have had little playing time in action. So, I’m disappointed with the result, but I think we have to remember our qualification for the Champions League, because that’s the most important thing.”

Season’s reflection

Next up was Hutter’s opinion on the campaign as a whole, which was littered with upside both domestically and in their Champions League adventures. He also made a special point of thanking the fans for all their support throughout.

“I want to remember the whole season, because last weekend against Lyon we had an extraordinary finale to this season by getting this ticket to the Champions League. We also wanted to win tonight, but I don’t want to talk too much about this match, which remains anecdotal in view of the entire season we have had. We have had great successes with a very young team and around ten more matches with this Champions League group campaign completed with 13 points, while having faced three of the four semi-finalists of the competition,” he asserted.

“In any case, I want to thank our supporters, who were once again in large numbers to support us in the enclosure, as they have been every time this season. And apologise to them. But Lens really played a good match, and they deserved this victory. We will now go on vacation to recharge our batteries, and I still want to congratulate my team for having once again achieved a very high objective this season. Today was simply not our best day.”

Future improvements

Even though they enjoyed a fine term, Hutter is well aware there’s plenty of room for refinement in all phases of the game.

“I think we can improve on many levels, because we could have done much better in some matches, like tonight. We need to work on our mentality to have the desire to win every game and improve our style of play. There are many things we can improve, but it will also depend on possible departures and arrivals,” commented the 55-year-old.

“Some young players have certainly shown great progress this season, even if not everyone has necessarily had the playing time they hoped for. What I can tell you is that I am very happy that Eric Dier will be joining us soon.”

More experience needed

Given what a young squad Monaco has, it was interesting to hear Hutter’s views on the current composition and how valuable adding some extra experience could be.

“We need to find the right balance, in my opinion, because I like to have young players from the Academy and the Elite Group available to help them progress. We want to continue developing the best talents from France so we can find the right mix with experienced players,” said Hutter.

“We’re on the right track, even though we’ve been unlucky this season, missing Folarin Balogun for five months, plus Denis Zakaria and Aleksandr Golovin for many matches. But in the end, we finished in the top three of the elite.”

Ben Seghir’s progress

Following another term of encouraging progress for the immensely talented Ben Seghir, Hutter gave his take on the phenom’s campaign.

“It was his first full season without injury, with his first experience in the Champions League. Young players always have ups and downs in their performances, that’s normal, but I’m happy with him. Sometimes players are disappointed that they don’t always play, but I also have to protect them from time to time,” Hutter told the media.

“In the end, Eliesse had a more than decent season, and we will see next season where he will play, because he is capable of playing as a number 8 like at Benfica, on the left wing or as a number 10. He has a lot of qualities and he will be important for us next season.”

Minamino’s importance

Lastly, the impact of Minamino was discussed, and the ASM boss’s words illustrated why the Japanese star is such a key figure.

“He had a good season, just like last year, scoring a very important goal, especially last week against Lyon. He’s the most experienced player in our team tonight, which is why he wore the armband tonight. He deserved to be; he’s a very versatile player, very intelligent, and never gets injured. He can also play in several positions, which is an asset for us,” stated the former Eintracht Frankfurt coach.

Done and dusted

With ASM’s 2024/2025 crusade now in the books, all eyes now turn to enjoying a break before they return for pre-season training in July, eager to build on their momentum and achieve even greater things next time around.