Olympique de Marseille interim manager Jacques Abardonado has only presided over two games, but the dressing room is already starting to lose faith in him, according to L’Équipe.
After an entertaining 3-3 draw against Ajax in the Europa League on Thursday, Marseille succumbed to a comprehensive 4-0 defeat to PSG in Sunday’s Classique. Defender Samuel Gigot said that the team “lacked balls” against their arch-rivals, whilst Abardonado added that he “didn’t recognise [himself]” in the defeat.
Despite being in the post for under a week, he is already losing the trust of the dressing room, per a report from L’Équipe. Notably, a difference in ‘Pancho’s’ discourse and the reality of the playing style is the source of this loss of confidence within the dressing room. Abardonado sought to highlight that he wanted a team that “played football” and that was aggressive. The reality on Sunday night at the Parc des Princes was an attempt to contain PSG and a feeble one at that. “What message did we send to Luis Enrique? Play all your attacking players, don’t worry, because we don’t want to attack…” said one member of the dressing room.
Abardonado’s spell as interim manager may not last long. After temporarily stepping back from his role as president, he and Javier Ribalta have now returned and are working on securing Marcelino’s successor. Former PSG manager Christophe Galtier has been contacted, according to reports from RMC Sport and L’Équipe.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
