AS Saint-Etienne : ASSE – EXCLUDED “Puel? The right person to supervise this youth ” | ASSE News

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Goal ! Saint-Etienne: Lionel, what is your view as a trainer on ASSE’s change of course and the role given to young people?

Lionel Vaillant: It is necessarily positive. When you are a trainer, it is always rewarding to see players who have left the State playing in the first team. It is gratifying for the work done. Now: is it a sporting desire? Is it an economic will? As the period is very complicated for the clubs, there is no longer necessarily the choice to do otherwise … In any case, it’s encouraging even if you have to be patient with the young people. Beginner players don’t have the experience of a boy who has 200 or 300 top-flight games. Fortunately, Claude Puel is the right person to supervise this youth.

What are the pitfalls to avoid when promoting so many young people at the same time?

When you have such a young team, you always have to be behind. When we see Claude Puel encouraging them at the edge of the field, talking to them a lot, giving them advice, we see that he is comfortable with that. It brings them requirements, a framework, a structure. When you have a team with a very low average age, the danger is that it goes all over the place. As there are not many experienced executives, we have to manage to channel this enthusiasm …

“My great regret? That Dylan Chambost did not have a chance … “

Is there a player who surprised you in his adaptability to Ligue 1?

Yes. There is one especially, the captain: Mahdi Camara. I am very happy and pleasantly surprised with his ability to stay the course in Ligue 1 while accepting great responsibilities with the armband. We knew he had potential, that he was a hard worker. Where he “surprises” me is in his adaptation to all positions. Claude Puel used him in midfield, central defender and even right back. Each time, he released his matches. It is a great satisfaction. Now this is not totally a surprise compared to his capacity for work and his warlike side.

For the general public, the big surprise is Etienne Green. He was not the most anticipated of his generation. Especially against Stefan Bajic …

It’s true. Now Etienne has always worked a lot behind the scenes. He had the opportunity to show himself in a match where we weren’t expecting him. He grabbed it brilliantly. Good for him. What makes us happy is that he is a real Stéphanois and that he knows the importance of this jersey.

Out of all the players you’ve had, are there any disappointments? Players that you thought you would see break through in Saint-Etienne?

(Without hesitation) Dylan Chambost. I attacked with the U13s and it’s a boy that I had in 13 years but also later in 17 years. We were champions of France together. He’s a grateful kid. Last year, when I opened my mailbox, I received his first professional jersey with Troyes in Ligue 2. He had left a note “coach, it’s for you. To thank you for these years … ”. I hadn’t asked for anything at all but that locates the kid’s recognition. I think it’s a shame the club didn’t give him a chance. It was a pure product of the center … But hey, that’s how it is. If he had to do it again, maybe he would have had his chance with Claude Puel.

“Maybe we should develop the specific attacker …”

Precisely, Dylan Chambost is the archetype of the offensive profile which rarely breaks through in ASSE. How do you explain it?

(He blows) Is this just a simple matter of circumstances? Why Saint-Etienne is releasing more defensive profiles? Maybe it’s harder to break into the offensive level where people expect seasoned profiles … You just have to look at the profiles of attackers on the market to realize that effective scorers are not legion. What I am sure is that at ASSE it has never been a “club” policy to only create defenders or circles. There is an element of non-success. Perhaps we should also develop the specific attacker from an early age with a specialized trainer …

In his interview Abdel Bouhazama explains to us that he does precisely targeted training for the offensives in Angers in order to repeat the ranges …

Maybe that can be the solution. In Saint-Etienne, Lilian Compan had initially arrived to take care of the attackers of the training center but he quickly switched to a coaching position. We should think about it. It seems to me that ASSE is thinking about it and that it is in particular the subject of discussions (Hamouma has a conversion clause as coach of the attackers in a year, Editor’s note). This is done in other sports. In rugby, there are many coaches for the scrum, the backs, the forwards … It may be something that needs to be developed.

Training file (2/4)

This week, Goal! Saint-Etienne was interested in the Puel project seen through the prism of the trainers who left the Green House. Every day a new interview. Second part with Lionel Vaillant, former U17 coach now at the head of the Puy reserve.

Alexandre corboz