‘Not all the players are putting their energy into serving the team’ – Franck Haise criticises OGC Nice squad amid poor run | OneFootball

OGC Nice had looked to be one of the favourites for UEFA Champions League qualification, however, a recent poor run has seen them drop back in the race for a top-four finish.

Heading into the match against Olympique Lyonnais in mid-March, Nice had the chance to leapfrog Olympique de Marseille in second place. That chance was not taken. Le Gym lost that match and are now on an unbeaten run of four games. Three of those games have been losses, including a 2-1 defeat at the hands of FC Nantes last Friday.

In an attempt to elicit a reaction from his squad, Franck Haise has laid into his players. “The biggest challenge is rediscovering a collective spirit. We have lost it just as we got everyone back,” he said, referring to the returns of several key players and the alleviation of an injury crisis that has endured almost the entire season. Paradoxically, it is at the moment that Les Aiglons are no longer contending with absences that this malaise has set in.

“It is about attitudes. I came, in part, because of the quality of the players, but if all, or the vast majority of them, cannot make a solid tight-knit group to get the best [results] possible, then something is missing. I am looking for there to be an awareness,” said the Nice manager.

“I am targeting everyone. Everyone has to be able to look at themselves and look at what they are doing for the team. Everyone should be here for one reason: to help the club move forward. What I have noted, at the time that I’m speaking, is that not all of the players are putting their energy into serving the team,” added Haise.

Ahead of Saturday’s match against RC Strasbourg Alsace, Haise said that Nice had “a good week” during which they “broke the routine and changed all of the training sessions.” Time will tell whether Haise’s comments and the changes in preparation will have the desired effect and put Nice back in the fight for the Champions League places.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle