Rémi Garde met with the press on Tuesday morning, at Centre Nutrilait, and his words reverberated with the Impact supporters – though, when put in context, the comments are much less inflammatory than one might have thought. Here is a summary of his scrum with the Montreal journalists ahead of the week of preparation for the game against the New England Revolution, at Stade Saputo on Saturday, May 5, at 1pm (TICKETS – TVA Sports, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690).
On players who have had less minutes since the start of the season
From what I see in training, it just isn’t sufficient for me to tell myself that these are players, when I turn and look at my bench, who are going to change the game. When you don’t play, when you are a player who is not used that often, the best way to change that is training. The coach must go into the dressing room thinking: “crap, if I don’t make him play, all the others will not understand.” I expect more answers on that side. I have lived that situation, when you don’t play that much, you ask yourself questions. It’s up to those who don’t play to put me in a tough spot and force me to play them.
On what he expects from the substitutes
I want to see someone with a desire to help the team first. I want him to show me that it was a mistake leaving him on the bench. My judgement takes place in training. What have you done since the last time you came on? It’s not that I don’t have confidence in them, it’s about what I see. Confidence is a feeling, and I’m not judging my players based on feeling. I’m judging based on facts. Whether I like a player or not, the facts are more important.
On the team’s state of mind following four straight losses
All the feelings are there. But we must always remain positive. We’re in a difficult situation, no one can deny that. Of course, we don’t like being in a situation like this. We need to keep moving forward and base ourselves on our past successes, and work hard to prepare for the game this weekend.
On what needs to be done to change things around
We must remain confident. Confidence in football is a very important feeling. To earn confidence, we must work better. It’s my job to change certain things in the way we work during the week, and the way we approach games as well. We can’t stay rooted to the spot every time things aren’t going our way. There’s an adaptation that is necessary in regard to what we’re doing, and the players must also modify a number of things.
On his outlook of the team as a whole
I have confidence in this group. We’ve lost four straight games, but a lot of things went against us. We’re in a stretch where the wind is blowing against us. It’s up to us to adjust and hit our stride. I’m confident because there is quality in this group.
On the issues in central defense
A big reason we’re struggling is because Zakaria Diallo was injured three days before the start of the season. It was difficult to cope afterwards. That was followed by injuries and suspensions in this part of the field. I regret not being able to play the same two players in front of Evan Bush, because continuity is key in this part of the field.
On tactical formations and specific roles
When we have the opportunity to regain the ball, even when the block is low, the forward player needs to be capable of keeping the ball, which allows the block to come higher. We lose the ball too early in our action and when we regain it, we need to improve. We also may need to defend higher on the pitch at times, but we played a lot of games on the road against really good teams. Now that we have home games coming, it might change things tactically for us.
