AS Saint-Etienne : Robert Beric settles his accounts with Puel, he lets go completely! | ASSE News

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We knew that Robert Beric was not a big fan of Claude Puel, at the origin of his departure from ASSE a little over a year ago. But so far, the Slovenian had rather been restrained when discussing his collaboration with the Castres. But in the interview with France Football, the tone changes. “I was sad to leave Saint-Etienne because it’s never easy to leave a club where you were four and a half years and where you still have friends,” Beric confides first. Everything was going well in Sainté, I had signed a 3-year extension in February 2019. Then we had bad results and Ghislain Printant unfortunately had to leave. Claude Puel arrived at the beginning of October with a completely different project, of which many players, including me, were not part ”.

The adventure had started well with this victorious goal from the attacker, for the first of Puel on the bench against Lyon (1-0), at the very end of the derby. “When I scored the winning goal in the derby, I thought my season was on,” Beric recalls. But the next 4 or 5 games, I don’t play anymore. I decide to go and ask him for an explanation, and he tells me that he doesn’t like the kind of forward that I am, and that he doesn’t see me on his team. He told me he wanted a fast forward, who could dribble and do whatever more, and that he wanted to build the future around Charles Abi. I replied that there was no reason for me to stay, that I did not want to sit on the bench for months with a contract until 2022. I took his words as a lack of respect. I accept that I’m not part of a coach’s plans, it’s football. But I didn’t like the way … “

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“The two presidents gave all the power to Claude Puel … I am surprised that he still has so much power in Saint-Etienne despite the results”

And to Beric to clarify: “He told me he wanted to play the block, with a base of six or seven defensive players, and forwards who can go quickly in front. I am not that kind of gamer. The reality is that even with fast forwards it was very difficult to score in this pattern of play. I told him about it, he told me it was going to happen, that the team was improving. What progress? They finished 17th and they are still having great difficulty scoring this season. “

18th attack in L1, ASSE, beaten in Lorient yesterday (1-2), has only 5 points ahead of the barrage, Nîmes, very far from the expectations aroused by Puel, the best paid coach of the history of ASSE.

“Puel has changed a lot this year and the club have signed a new forward in the winter transfer window. I hope they will have better results. Roland Romeyer was not happy to see me go. I think he likes me and I love him back, he’s a real fan of the club. But hey, the two presidents gave all the power to Claude Puel … I’m surprised that he still has so much power in Saint-Etienne despite the results! », Slips Beric again. Who adds: “The position of Puel within the club played in my departure. I felt like he would stay even if the club had poor results. And that’s what happened. Last year he was lucky the season was over. Today he is in the second half of the table and loses 5-0 in the derby but is not even threatened. It gives me comfort in the idea that he will stay at the club until the end of his contract. “

“He arrived at the start of the sessions like a dictator”

According to the Chicago striker, Puel did not set up a good working atmosphere when he arrived. “From what I experienced in training, Puel looked like he was emotionless. He arrived at the beginning of the sessions like a dictator, telling us to do this and that, without ever smiling. It’s a very different way of working from what I had experienced with Ghislain, Jean-Louis Gasset or with any coach before him. Puel seems difficult to live with. “This does not prevent the Slovenian from continuing to follow the Greens …” I try to watch the Greens games every weekend if I can. It’s like a second family. I’m very happy that Jessy can play, he deserves it. Romain is a fantastic player with a lot of technique. I would be super happy if he came to Chicago to give me the assists! (laughs). Among the others, Yvan Neyou is also very good. “