With seven consecutive defeats in Ligue 1, Saint-Etienne is going through an extremely worrying crisis.
The Greens are now flirting with the relegation zone as Claude Puel’s side are only two points ahead of Lorient, who is currently in a play-off. An urgent reaction of pride is expected from Sunday, although the task will be particularly difficult against Lille at Geoffroy-Guichard. A new defeat would plunge Saint-Etienne into chaos. However, Claude Puel is not threatened, according to Hervé Matoux. And for good reason, the Canal + journalist believes that the ex-coach of Leicester, Southampton or OGC Nice, is simply impossible to fire.
“For contractual and financial reasons, ASSE cannot separate from Puel. It would make no sense to fire Claude Puel to take on a firefighter on duty. Puel’s problem is in his management of executives: his rigor and rigidity means that he does not want to let go with the choices he can make. Sunday night against Lille, it will not be easy. The LOSC is a team that produces a great game and especially a coach who knows the places well ” said the presenter of Canal Football Club on the airwaves of France Bleu Saint-Etienne. It remains to be seen whether whoever is also the general manager of ASSE will manage to rectify the situation in the weeks to come. If this is not the case, the situation will quickly become unmanageable for the leadership of the Greens. Because for over a year, it’s clearly Claude Puel who has been making the rain and shine in Saint-Etienne, especially during the transfer window.