Francis Gillot is growing increasingly frustrated with the poor performance of Girondins de Bordeaux. The coach made his dissatisfaction clear during a vigorous shake-up of his players in the midst of a training session on Wednesday morning.
The Girondins have had a rough start to 2014, suffering five defeats and one elimination in the Coupe de France against L’Ile-Rousse (0-0, 4-3 on penalties) in their last eight matches. This is a stark contrast to their relatively positive performance in 2013, where they secured a 5th place finish on the 22nd day of Ligue 1. Gillot’s patience has worn thin.
“Since the beginning of January, six matches lost out of eight! You are in Bordeaux, not in Sedan; here you are paid to win matches. I’m fed up with it…!” Gillot expressed during the training session, as reported by Sud Ouest. He didn’t hesitate to address his players directly moments earlier, criticizing their approach to the game. “We keep asking you to play with two touches of the ball, but you prefer to think you’re Zorro! But if one of you was able to dribble past three defenders to win the match single-handedly, we’d notice! Have you been watching the Champions League? Have you seen Thiago Motta?”
Gillot also directed his frustration towards André Poko, who has spent several matches on the bench. He openly criticized the midfielder in front of the group, stating, “You don’t run anymore, and when you lose the ball, you pretend to be injured.”
Whether this crackdown was a response to poor performance or an attempt to create a shock before the upcoming match against Evian Thonon Gaillard on Saturday remains to be seen. However, the reaction of Bordeaux’s players will undoubtedly be closely watched.
