New coach, new faces as Nantes reset after semi-final run | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, Nantes begin a third successive top-flight campaign under a new head coach after a historic fourth place and a semi-final run, with ambitions necessarily scaled back.

They have already played twice in the League Cup, drawing 1-1 with Saint-Malo before losing 3-4 on penalties, then winning 2-0 at Le Havre. The league opener is at Paris FC at Jean-Bouin at 15:00, against last season's runners-up.

Nicolas Chabot has left for Marseille, and key players including Calba, Toloba, Burns and Fleury have also departed. Club hierarchy have pledged not to cut resources for the women despite the men's relegation, and have appointed Pierre-Alain Picard, 35, the former Dijon coach.

Picard noted their first three opponents, Paris FC then Fleury and PSG, have far greater means. He said Nantes will compete with their own strengths to disrupt them and that the aim is simply to exist at that level and make rivals play worse. He expects a difficult start but does not want to overplay it.

With an average age of 23, the squad is young, yet Picard has seen encouraging cohesion in pre-season. Training has focused on building automatisms within a tight initial framework that will open up to encourage creativity and initiative. Last season's attractive football earned praise, and maintaining that identity now falls to him.

Source: L'Équipe

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