AS Saint-Étienne focus on the present as Ian Cathro begins season three at Bonal | OneFootball

AS Saint-Étienne launch the third season of the Kilmer era at Bonal against promoted Sochaux, with new Scottish head coach Ian Cathro and recruits already bedding in. According to Le Progres, this campaign is intended to be the one that takes them back to Ligue 1.

Year one was billed as discovery, year two as transition by the shareholder’s representatives. The question now is whether season three finally brings lift-off.

The project, backed by Larry Tanenbaum’s wealth, now needs clear sporting proof to move beyond an avoidable relegation to Ligue 2 and last season’s failed promotion bid for a club that views itself below its natural level.

A little over two months after the play-off defeat, 0-0 then 4-1, the message on the eve of the restart in Sochaux is to move on for players and executives alike. The past will not be dwelt on.

Cathro repeatedly framed his first pre-match press conference around beginning a new chapter, presenting himself as the embodiment of the change sought by the shareholder. The emphasis, he suggested, is firmly on the present.

Source: Le Progres

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