As a prelude to the clash between the two co-leaders of Pool C of Nationale 3, Rodez and Mont-de-Marsan, Saturday November 16, Ruthenian interior Mansour Diouf spoke about his team’s almost perfect start to the exercise .
At the start of the season, you had seven wins with just one loss. What is the first assessment you get from the start of the championship?
We got off to a really good start to the season. We were very intense at both ends of the pitch. Recruits have been great for us. We still have a few rotations (than last year) and the chemistry really took off between us.
Cool, what do you remember about your last victory, on the floor of Réal Chalossais (82-91)?
Having played in Landes when I was young, we really made a big splash. It’s almost impossible to win there, because of the atmosphere, the intensity, the environment. We sent a big message to the group, saying: “Be careful, Rodez will also win against big teams that are famously invincible at home.” This is the confirmation we need. It gives us confidence. We have players who are very young, so it’s important for them to win games and have that confidence.
It looks like you have reached a real milestone this time compared to last…
We have clearly positioned ourselves as one of the leaders in the group. However, we must not forget that at the beginning of the season, we only want to continue. We changed groups, we reached the Landes group, so we know it will be very complicated. We have very young players who haven’t played senior and Lucas Bonnal who hasn’t played for three, four years, so we don’t know how to position ourselves.
By tying first before Saturday night’s summit match, aren’t you now obliged to change your ambitions upwards and aim to improve?
We try not to worry about that. We want to have as much fun as possible. Then, if we can finish first at the end of the season, we will do it. But saying now that this is our goal, I cannot comment on that.
How did you approach the match against Mont-de-Marsan?
We know that this is a team that should not be underestimated, that is very strong. We will do everything to win. We want to try to maintain our invincibility at home. The goal is not to lose a home game this season. It may be dangerous to continue this, but that is the purpose.
It is also for these games that we play basketball. This is a game that will ensure that we can play at the end of the season.