Bordeaux vs Stade Reims preview - Vasseur out to stop the rot

Posted Saturday, February 28, 2015 by PA

Reims coach Jean-Luc Vasseur wants his team to put a stop to their recent dismal run when they travel to Bordeaux on Saturday.

The pressure on Vasseur has increased in recent weeks after Reims started to tumble down the Ligue 1 table.

A seven-match winless streak has caused Reims to drop to 15th and they are now just five points above the relegation zone.

They missed a good chance to move closer to safety last week when they drew 0-0 at home to bottom club Metz and Vasseur wants Reims to put that disappointing result quickly behind them by winning at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

"The team is frustrated because it is not being rewarded for what it is putting in during training," Vasseur told a press conference.

"We want a collective response against Bordeaux."

Reims have only won twice on the road this season, but Vasseur saw enough in their last away match to give him hope ahead of this weekend's match.

He claims David N'Gog's last-minute equaliser at high-flying Marseille two weeks ago has raised spirits in the camp.

"I am confident because we know how to play well away, as we have seen recently in Marseille," said the 46-year-old.

"It will be a tough game, but we will try to stop them."

Vasseur will be without Mads Albaek, Sacha Bastien, Grejohn Kyei, Antoine Devaux, Chris Mavinga and Valentin Roberge through injury.

Unlike Reims, Bordeaux go into the match in good form. They are sixth in the table after embarking upon a five-match unbeaten run.

They had to scrap for a 1-1 draw against Rennes last week, though, and utility man Julien Faubert wants to see an improvement against Reims.

"We had a lot of chances in this game against Rennes, we were never in danger and we deserved to win," the former West Ham man told Bordeaux's website.

"This match is encouraging and frustrating at the same time .

"We'll have to improve our confidence in front of goal and score as soon as we have the opportunity this week."