Lille OSC vs Saint-Etienne preview - Beria: We must keep believing

Posted Friday, October 31, 2014 by PA

Lille defender Franck Beria insists it is vital that he and his team-mates keep talking to each other rather than bottling up any ill feeling over the club's current poor run.

Les Dogues sit 11th in the Ligue 1 table going into the home game against St Etienne on Saturday, having lost three league games in a row and four out of the last five.

Beria believes it is imperative that the atmosphere in the dressing room continues to be one where players are not afraid to speak their minds.

He told the club's official website www.losc.fr: "The mindset is crucial. It has long been our strength. In these moments, the solution is not to point the finger at so and so.

"The worst that can happen in a group is to leave things unsaid. That is why we interact a lot. Whether in the locker room or on the ground, everyone must speak, we say things as they are. If everyone comes in with a positive mindset, we will be back to our best soon."

The defence is in the spotlight at the moment and Beria concedes that too many crucial late goals have been given away, but he also believes the team's approach to their attacking play must be looked at.

"It takes the desire, the will to be a killer, to be destructive, to want to push the goalkeeper into the net with the ball," he added.

"And that is the responsibility of the whole team, not just the attackers. It is the same for defensive tasks. If all the links in the chain are not complementary or do not produce the efforts for each other, it's difficult."

Lille, who celebrate the 70th anniversary of their formation this weekend, will be without veteran midfielder Florent Balmont, who is suspended, while coach Rene Girard has said that Jonathan Delaplace will not feature because of a thigh injury.

Opponents St Etienne started the weekend fourth on the back of two straight wins. Striker Kevin Monnet-Paquet is a fitness concern after suffering bruising to his ankle in a heavy challenge during last weekend's win over Metz while defender Francois Clerc also has an ankle problem.

Forward Mevlut Erding is set to return for Les Verts after injury.