Promoted in July, ASSE returned to top flight for the first time since 2016-2017. Before starting on Saturday against Bordeaux (2:30 p.m.), coach Jérôme Bonnet and midfielder Laura Condon tell us about their club.
Saturday at 2:30 p.m., Jérôme Bonnet and his players will not be on the roads of France by coach to follow the first day of D1 Arkema on their tablet or smartphone. The ASSE coach will sit on the bench and lead his team, back in the top flight for the first time since 2016-17, against Bordeaux. A big start for a promoted player who went through a few difficult years in D2. We had to analyze the descent, establish an action plan or overcome the health crisis and the stoppage of competitions. But here are the Stéphanoises in D1. “We want to be part of this championship, assures Jérôme Bonnet. We came up with a decision but we worked for it, we were consistent, we prepared for it and we want to stay there. “
THE RISE IN D1
“Joy, relief and pride”
Jérôme Bonnet (ASSE coach): “The first feeling is joy. For me, it was even more special because we heard this good news on my birthday! We felt relief. Since 2017-2018, we have pursued this objective of climbing back into the elite. For several seasons, we weren’t far away but there was always a little bit of a gap and there it happened. This rise rewards the work done by the players and the staff. Our results in recent years have shown that we are consistent in our performance and that we deserve to be among the contenders for the climb. “
Laura Condon (ASSE midfielder): “We didn’t really expect that. For me, it was a surprise. We had been playing for first place for several seasons and a lot of things prevented us from going up, especially the COVID period, which was unique. Even though the announcement was quite late, it was greeted with great happiness and pride. “
THE LAST TWO SEASONS WITH THE VIRUS
“Complicated to live for all D2 players”
Laura Condon (ASSE midfielder): “These seasons have been tough for all D2 players, especially mentally. When we start a season, we think we are going to finish it and we approach it each time with the ambition to go up. In 2019-2020, we were stopped in March. We continued to train but we were never able to resume. Last season was even more difficult as the stoppage came in October. We were on a good momentum with six wins in as many games, the group wanted to show that we could get on the pitch. But that was not possible. “
Midfielder Laura Condon and striker Laury Jesus (photo @ASSEofficiel).
THE EVOLUTION IN SAINT-ÉTIENNE
“An action plan to prepare for this return to the elite”
Jérôme Bonnet (ASSSE coach): “I took charge of the team at the end of the 2016-2017 season when I was assistant to Hervé Didier. At the time, we had started to set up another game plan and the descent stopped it. We had to identify what we had missed to stay in D1. The club have implemented an action plan to prepare for this return to the top flight. We first wanted to avoid bleeding in the workforce in order to maintain a framework made up of executives to support young people in D2. If we had been able to get the climb in the first year, we would have done it but Dijon was better armed. We were in a restructuring phase, it was important not to neglect it. Then, we set up the game project. Finally, in the structuring, certain things were missing. We worked there with the club and the municipality, which listened to our needs. It is a collaborative effort so that there is a positive evolution from an organizational, structural and sporting point of view. To expand the staff, to pay its members, is a step forward. There is also the search for partners which allows us to have a larger budget in order to follow the economic model of the D1. ”
SUMMER PREPARATION
“Quickly measure the level difference”
Jérôme Bonnet (ASSE coach): “The challenge of this period is to allow the squad to prepare – in three stages – to resume training, matches and competition. What may have changed due to the context is the last step with the preparation for the competition when for ten months we haven’t had any. This lack could be detrimental during the first days because the pace of D1 is different from D2. We are not going to say that we are going to be in difficulty because we are preparing for it, but we will have to quickly assess the difference in level. Having had the decision to climb in mid-July, I was not able to readjust our friendlies schedule as I would have liked to be able to calibrate against D1 clubs. ”
Jérôme Bonnet, Saint-Etienne coach, during the cohesion day (photo @ASSEofficiel).
Laura Condon (ASSE midfielder): “The preparation went very well although it was difficult. This is not the period we prefer: athletically, it is demanding! We rose in rank over the weeks. We played several friendlies, the last of which was against Montpellier last Saturday (1-3). This allowed us to reconnect with oppositions, to find our marks and our automatisms. We also did a cohesion activity (main and following photos) because players have left and recruits have arrived. We want to remain a united group as we have been for several years and use this solidarity in D1. “
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE CLUB
“We arrive in D1 and we want to stay there”
Jérôme Bonnet (ASSE coach): “Obtain the maintenance as soon as possible to be able to be, for once, in a logic of preparation for the following season a little more serene. There is a lot of work to be done to achieve this goal. We come to the elite with great humility, but also with envy and enthusiasm. We’re going to try to push the others around a bit. D1 clubs are already in place and want to stay there. We are getting there and we want to stay there. “
Laura Condon (ASSE midfielder): “We’ve been in D2 for several seasons and we know the gap between the two divisions in terms of pace and intensity. It will be necessary to garner a maximum of points. We have good individualities but what will make our strength is the group, the fact of having retained a large part of our backbone from the last few seasons. We’re going to use that. “
The Stéphanoises with the members of the staff (photo @ASSEofficiel).
THE CALENDAR
“Bordeaux then Lyon? It will be done ! ”
Jérôme Bonnet (ASSE coach): “It’s a complicated start to the calendar with the reception of Bordeaux and then a trip to Lyon. We can expect very difficult matches. But we have to face these teams! I don’t mind starting in front of them. We know that we will not be ready, this will allow us to get in the bath to prepare for the matches that could be more important for us, especially against teams that will play maintenance. “
Laura Condon (ASSE midfielder): “We will say that it will be done (laughs)! It’s not worse. We will realize the intensity and the demands demanded by D1, which will be much higher than what we knew in D2. We are going to approach these matches with a lot of envy because we are happy to resume the competition, whether it is Bordeaux, Lyon or another. It will be necessary to do the maximum to garner as many points as possible. “
THE D1 ARKEMA
“When I was playing at Albi, there wasn’t all of that”
Laura Condon (ASSE midfielder): “There have been a lot of developments. I have seen technical and physical progress in all areas of the game. The aura, the media coverage of the championship has also changed. When I was playing Albi, there wasn’t all of that. In three seasons of D1, I must have been on TV once! This is good for the development of women’s football even though there is still some way to go. I am thinking of the number of teams or the homogeneity of the championship with similar conditions for all clubs. It has become a lot more professional compared to the D1 three to four years ago. I risk seeing the difference and my teammates too (laughs)! “