The team may only be six points away from league leaders Paris Saint-Germain heading into the Ligue 1 run-in, but Marseille’s middling form has been causing some concern among fans, not least after a prolific January transfer window.
According to RMC Sport tonight, club president Pablo Longoria – along with Director of Football Javier Ribalta – has even met with supporter representatives in order to quell their doubts. A number of subjects were covered – including the team’s on-pitch performance, his future at the club, and the new signings’ impact.
The atmosphere was said to be friendly during the meeting, with the club looking to host such events at least once every two months. With the team winless in their last four games at home, Longoria pointed out that he was not happy with the players’ performances, and felt that the players were “too relaxed” and needed to be more humble. Marseille’s Coupe de France defeat to Ligue 2 outfit Annecy, soon after beating PSG in the same competition, was proof of that.
Longoria also indicated that Dimitri Payet would remain this summer, while he also implored the supporters to be patient with new striker Vitinha, who has yet to impressive in the little game time Igor Tudor has afforded him. Fans pointed out that they would like to keep Alexis Sánchez – the Chilean’s contract expires this summer – to which the Spaniard’s reply was ambiguous. In terms of the team’s objectives, the focus is firstly on securing a Champions League spot – no mention of a title race was made during the meeting.
Longoria concluded by explaining that there would not be many changes made to the squad this summer. He also brushed off reports of interest in him and Igor Tudor to their former club Juventus – “I might go to Turin, but only on holiday!”.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin
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