In January 2020, the Stéphane trainer with muscular and expeditious methods (as Stéphane Ruffier can certainly confirm) had pushed Robert Beric towards the exit. And the latter still does not get over it judging by his very harsh words about the Forézien coach. “He was very direct. He told me he wanted a fast forward, who could dribble and do something more, and that he wanted to build the future around Charles Abi,” lamented the player. 29 years old in an interview with the magazine France Football. I told him there was no reason for me to stay. (…) I accept that I’m not part of a coach’s plans, it’s football. But I didn’t like the way …“, added the one who had transferred from Saint-Etienne to Chicago in MLS in January 2020, and who visibly retained a bitter memory of his ex-coach.
“Puel has a lot of power”
A coach who has a lot of power at ASSE: “From what I experienced in training, he gave the impression of being without emotion. He arrived at the beginning of the sessions like a dictator, telling us to do this and that, without ever smiling (…) I am surprised that he still has so much power in Saint-Etienne, despite the results. I had the impression that Puel would stay even if the club had bad results And that’s what happened. […] Today he is in the second half of the table and loses 5-0 in the derby but is not even threatened “, tackle the Slovenian international.