The situation is serious in Montpellier, weighed down by a catastrophic start to the season and nailed to last place, at the dawn of the second part which it begins against the ambitious Monaco, Friday at La Mosson at the opening of the 18th daytime.
Stunned by the defeat in front of Angers (1-3), last week, Montpellier coach Jean-Louis Gasset nevertheless does not want to abdicate, nor give in to the fate of a team trailing behind by seven points by the Saint-Etienne barrage.
Since the start of the week, the technician, who returned to his training club this fall, has been working to reverse the course of things and re-mobilize, once again, a team, somewhat abandoned by its managers.
“I said (after Angers, editor’s note) that the mission was practically impossible, because I was really in shock. There is half a championship left. When you’re at risk for the future of a lot of people, you don’t have the right to give up. I must lead this revolt”promises Gasset, a little alone at the head of a drifting boat.
17 days before the end of the championship, Montpellier is not moving forward. With a meager nest egg of nine points, he faces a rare challenge and a widespread breakdown of his team. And it is difficult to see a way out of this long initial tunnel in view of the performance of a group without sponsor, mental resources or consistency.
“When you feel like you have something, the next week you no longer have it. When you play an away match, like in Lyon, you tell yourself that we are moving forward. And then (in front of Angers, patatras, patatras. There are no givens with this group. You always have to be the shepherd and the dog at the same time, because they need that”observes the technician, pointing out the failure of the frames.
No sign of a recovery
Broken attack, like its center forward Akor Adams, helplessness outside and permeable defense: the team of Jean-Louis Gasset, who succeeded Michel der Zakarian on October 20 after a rout in front of Marseille, offers no encouraging signs of recovery.
Montpellier residents Rabby Nzingoula and Akor Adams (left) try to defend their camp, during their team’s defeat in Lyon, January 4, 2025 / OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP/Archives
Montpellier’s defense, in particular, is worrying, with a record of 42 goals conceded (only Nice in 1978-79 did worse) and the absence of a +clean sheet+ for 23 matches.
The injury to Nikola Maksimovic, a rookie who arrived at the end of October and unavailable until the end of the season, weakens her a little more. And, the ghost « Kiki » Kouyaté, recovered from a knee injury, is serving a one-match suspension after his exclusion against Angers.
Affected by the drop in TV rights and the absence of transfers during the summer transfer window, Montpellier has no financial margin to try one last gamble and strengthen itself, unless there is a lucrative transfer of one of its rare market values (Tamari, Chotard).
To avoid relegation, 16 years after his comeback, Jean-Louis Gasset is banking on mental resilience and a sense of responsibility, which a team has lacked since July, or even for more than three seasons.
“In a difficult context, it will take a lot of courage and dignity. I want dignity. I want the people at the end of the match to be dead and to have given everything”hopes the Montpellier coach, who calls on his men about the serious situation of La Paillade.