«A great ambition for the club»
The objectives set for André Villas-Boas
«André surprised me with his degree of confidence in the current group. His role and goals, for him specifically, is to qualify for the Champions League. This remains our goal, but we are now preparing for a new cycle, the second stage of our project, in the long run. This will take us through 2024, to the new format of the Champions League. The key moment for us will be the 2020-2021 season, which will mark the start of the qualifying process for clubs toward the new C1 formula in 2024.»
The transfer window
«We can buy today. We can also work on other strategies like loans. We have significant funds, at least as far as the scale of L1. It will allow us to do some interesting things. But we need to significantly reduce our payroll and we will do it ...
Today, we are addressing two or three profiles, to be able to adapt if there are unexpected departures and we would have to replace. The forward position is one need, since Mario Balotelli will not continue with OM. We’ll look beyond the attacking position, including in central defence. We have two wonderful young players (Boubacar Kamara and Duje Caleta-Car), who have shown great things over several months, on which we are absolutely counting on. But we also know that this is a very sensitive sector, a little more experience would not hurt.»
His position leading OM
«It's been a while since I've put things in perspective. It's demanding, this leadership role. We’ve remained calm and confident in the choices we’ve made, we are very aligned with Frank (McCourt). We have shown great ambition for this club, transforming its structure, its methods, its processes, its management. That's what obsesses me day and night, to make this club stronger than when it was taken over. After that, my personal case does not matter. We are all in transit.»
A message for supporters
«My first message is to tell them how lucky this club is to have an owner like Frank McCourt, who has put his personal money into the club's resurgence, who has always done what he said that he would do. His enthusiasm, his will, his desire, and his temperament show that this club has an owner that wants to re-establish itself as it was at the height of its history. In international competitions, we want to play the leading roles. And if patience is not the first virtue of the Marseille fans, then I ask them to see what we are trying to build, brick by brick, month after month, season after season. We are trying to utilise a long-term vision and a bit of rationality in a very chaotic world.»
