In a guest appearance on the English channel Sky Sports, current RC Lens coach Will Still spent several minutes detailing his plan for the Artois club. During this informative presentation, the Anglo-Belgian manager particularly emphasized preventative marking during the offensive phase (rest-defense) and counter-pressing, describing them as "vital": "If we're not ready to counter-press and our rest-defense position isn't good, our opponents will be able to go into transition, and we'll have to chase them. This plays a huge role in our defensive game plan because it must also allow us to attack and create plenty of chances." He added, in light of the Ligue 1 side's 8th-placed struggle to score: "We're simply not very effective in this area." This season, Lens is third in terms of fewest goals conceded (33) behind Lille (32) and PSG (27). Lens is also ranked seventh in Ligue 1 with regards to the fewest chances created by their opponents (584). In comparison, Racing Club de Strasbourg (720), OL (714) and Nice (690) have conceded more chances to their opponents.
Brief
At 32, RC Lens coach Will Still is the youngest coach in Ligue 1 / ©Icon Sport