Vahid Halilhodzic and Nantes’ improved play, but no wins as relegation looms | OneFootball

Despite tidier football under Vahid Halilhodzic, Nantes have not reversed results and, before hosting Marseille on Saturday at 15:00, relegation to Ligue 2 is closing in.

According to L'Équipe, he arrived on 10 March to mount a rescue that now looks likely to fall short unless a miracle. He has gone six matches without a win, which he thinks is a first in his managerial career. His 0.5 points per game trails Luis Castro on 0.73 and Ahmed Kantari on 0.6.

Performances have been more coherent, with tight margins. There was a 0-0 at Auxerre on 11 April. Paris-SG were far too strong in a 0-3, and at Metz a 0-0 came after over 50 minutes with 10 men, a stoppage-time home goal ruled out for a marginal offside.

A blunt attack has hurt, only four goals scored, with Matthis Abline enduring five goalless outings. Mental fragility has told, with one draw and two defeats conceded in added time. An officiating error against Brest in a 1-1, Dehmaine Tabibou sent off at 1-0, also counted against them.

Halilhodzic maintains his side are not as poor as portrayed, pointing to a lack of efficiency, confidence and composure, and to hard work that has gone unrewarded.

He thinks an extra month might have changed a lot, while accepting it was not certain and he might not have taken the job earlier. Now 73, he returned from retirement with no regrets. After matchday 25, Nantes were 17th, two behind Auxerre and seven behind Nice, those gaps have since grown by three and relegation could be sealed this weekend.

Source: L'Équipe