Patrick Videira insists on high standards ahead of PSG meeting

With the sixth matchday approaching, Patrick Videira is asked about his team’s ninth place in Ligue 1 and its single defeat. Ahead of the meeting with PSG, the Le Mans FC coach says his players have shown strong values, while making clear he is not content to settle for this early assessment. “I’m proud of my boys,” he says, stressing the need to preserve the team’s high standards and ambition to improve.

Saturday’s 8:45 p.m. match at the Parc des Princes has particular significance for Videira. Having spent part of his youth at Paris Saint-Germain, he will lead a team there for the first time in his career. Some members of the staff he knew from that period are still there. But he says his own emotions matter little beside the collective challenge.

The coach says the group is meeting his expectations mentally. He is comfortable showing how he feels, whether pleased or not, and says he needs to see his players happy. He explains that even comments that may sting are intended to help them develop and grow. The joy he recalls from one evening, he says, was for the group, along with a reminder to keep working.

Videira recognises the gap between Le Mans and PSG, but still wants his players to look every opponent in the eye. He says the beginning was also difficult when he arrived at Le Mans. His message remains to keep working without giving up on ambition.