Preview: AS Monaco looking to continue sparkling form vs Brest

Boasting the best record in Ligue 1 over the past six matches, AS Monaco are aiming to maintain their momentum and keep pushing towards the European qualification places when they face Stade Brestois this weekend.

Ahead of this significant clash, manager Sébastien Pocognoli previewed Saturday’s meeting with Brest at the Stade Louis-II in the pre-match press conference.

Home stretch

Having taken 16 points from the last 18 available, all eyes are on ending the season in fine form to clinch a coveted European spot.

“As a matter of principle, I don’t like to compare previous years to a specific pattern of what’s been done. If we always finish strong, it means it comes after going through more difficult periods, so I hope we can change that someday. In any case, we’re on a good run right now, so we can ask ourselves at the end of the season if it’s consistent with previous seasons. But generally speaking, I try to distance myself from what’s been done before, because we’re building something new by doing things differently,” Pocognoli insisted.

Squad status

The focus then shifted to injuries and squad availability, with Pocognoli offering updates on several key players, stating: “Looking at the recent matches and the intensity with which we’ve played these past few weeks, it means the team has grown in that respect. Indeed, there’s a huge amount of effort involved in implementing the style of play we want to achieve, and for that, we need other options to be able to maintain that consistency throughout a match. That’s the next challenge: maintaining more consistency during a game. For the moment, we’re managing this well by being creative but also by anticipating potential problems, preparing the available players and those who are less frequently on the pitch by pushing them to do their best every day in training.

“We have Kassoum (Ouattara), who is potentially available for selection, as is Pape (Cabral). Eric (Dier) and Krépin (Diatta) are not yet available, nor is Paul (Pogba), and we’ve lost two players in Vanderson and Caio (Henrique), which is a setback. We’ll have to make do, not to mention that we’re also managing the absence of some players who weren’t at training today: Zak’ (Denis Zakaria), Jordan (Teze) and Pape. We’re trying to do what we can to prepare for this match against Brest in the best possible way.”

Full-back options

On his choices for the full-back roles, Pocognoli highlighted the options at his disposal in an insightful manner.

“We always need to try and anticipate and prepare as best as possible the players who can potentially play in these positions, whether as wing-backs or full-backs. Fortunately, we have Kassoum returning, who will have to follow a process of managing his playing time upon his return. Krépin will also be back, so these are two players who will be a real asset. Against Paris, Jordan came on in that position, and he’s done it before, so we know what he can bring to the table. As for Chris (Christian Mawissa), he also came on in that role, even though he has a more defensive profile, but he’s a good option as well. Regardless of the system, it’s up to us to make the most of the solutions we have available and use them to their fullest potential within the overall organisation of our starting eleven,” explained the Belgian.

Return of Hradecký

Pocognoli then spoke about Lukáš Hradecký’s return from injury and how it affects the pecking order, making a point of praising both Hradecký and Philipp Köhn.

“He’s trained well these last two weeks. The first week was perhaps a little lacking in terms of certain skills specific to the goalkeeper position, but this week he’s trained without restrictions and at a good level, so he’s available for selection. Regarding the pecking order? Lukáš will reclaim his position in goal. The positive thing about Philipp (Köhn) is that he’s had two periods to manage, and each time I’ve challenged him on areas for improvement, he’s worked hard on certain aspects and responded by putting in good performances,” he told the media.

“He’s improved in certain areas that might not be immediately apparent, but he’s been very important. And now this creates healthy competition between our two goalkeepers. Before his injury, Lukáš had been performing well; he was on a good run as the number one, so he’ll reclaim his place and will have to bring his experience and qualities to the team.”

Balogun

Pocognoli was then asked on Balogun’s development this campaign, noting his sharper mindset, growing consistency and improvements in technique and tactical understanding that have been integral towards his purple patch.

“I completely agree that he’s made a lot of progress psychologically. Balo is much more focused on reacting to a good or bad play. This means that when he’s playing well, he remains consistent, and even when he’s less involved or misses an opportunity, he manages to react positively. It’s a lot of psychological work, which doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s something he’s working on with Kevin (Mirallas). So on this point, Folarin has taken a step forward, and we know that for a striker, being able to handle such situations is crucial. Furthermore, there’s also been improvement on a technical and tactical level, which means he’s in a good phase of his career, and he needs to keep it up to remain consistent until the end of the season and finish strong. That’s what we want to see him achieve,” said the 38-year-old.

Brest test

The last topic on the agenda was Pocognoli’s thoughts on the challenge Brest will pose, with him well aware Éric Roy’s in-form outfit can beat anyone.

“I think Brest, along with us, is the team currently enjoying the best run in Ligue 1. So this is a very important match in terms of our ambitions this year, especially since it’s a clash between the two most in-form teams. That creates a rather special atmosphere around this encounter. Collectively, this Brest team is very strong and individually they have good players, with an experienced coach who isn’t easy to manage,” acknowledged the ASM boss.

“At their place in the first leg, we weren’t exceptional, but we were consistent. We simply faced a well-organised team with some outstanding individual players. We know their strengths, especially up front, as well as their tactical discipline. So we’ll need to be ready and maintain the values ​​that have been our strength in recent weeks by being as good as them in certain aspects of the game where they excel.”

Game on

Brimming with confidence after their scintillating victory vs PSG, the Principality club will be gunning to make it five consecutive victories when they tackle the Pirates to further reduce the gap to those above them in the Ligue 1 standings.