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>> PART 2: Bocanegra: 'Charlie Davies will be back stronger than before!'

Ligue1.com: After a good start, you’ve won just twice in your last eight matches. At the start of the season, many claimed that Rennes were outsiders to the title after bringing in some new faces over the summer. Is that sort of comment helpful, confidence building or does it just add unnecessary pressure?

Carlos Bocanegra: “Well, like you say, we’ve got a long road head of us after recent weeks. We’ve been pretty inconsistent which is hurting us. Last year consistency was one of our strong points and we strung together a great run of 18 games undefeated last season and that was a pretty unbelievable run for us. At the moment, you know, things aren’t always going your way, maybe we aren’t getting a few of the breaks that we got last year and that can just shake your confidence a little bit with the team.

“Our biggest thing is getting a run of consistent results and play ourselves into some form because we do have a good team here and we’ve brought in some good players ad a few of the guys are really starting to get into top form now. We definitely feel we can keep things interesting this year for Rennes.”

L1: You had a chance to measure yourselves against the champions Bordeaux in Week 7? Your first loss of the season, 1-0, what went wrong?

CB: “Well, I don’t think we had our best game that night but I think we played alright. We all know Bordeaux are a strong team, but I think we hung in there well and we were very disappointed that we came away with a 1-0 loss. But we didn’t have our best team performance that night, and when you play the big teams like Bordeaux, Lyon and Marseille, everyone needs to play well.

L1: Last season you told us that Bordeaux were the best team you played against. Do you feel there’s still a gap between Rennes and the likes of Bordeaux, Lyon and Marseille?

CB: “We don’t see too much of a gap. Obviously they’re playing Champions League football year in and year out and that’s where we would like to be. But I don’t think that result against Bordeaux knocked our confidence around – I think it was just another result where we paid the price for being a little inconsistent.”

L1: A look at the ladder shows that despite some inconsistent form, that Rennes and a lot of other teams are within striking distance of the leaders. You get the feeling that everyone can beat everyone in Ligue1...

CB: “Yeah, that’s exactly right. I think anybody can beat anybody and it’s a credit to the strengths of some of the teams that you wouldn’t have originally expected to be any good this year and they’re stepping up. The teams are just getting better and better and that’s the quality of the league coming through.

“It’s good because you don’t like it when somebody’s run off with the title in December, so I think it makes it interesting for the fans and we at Rennes can definitely hang in there and play for the title. I think it’s great when, from top to bottom, any team can beat anybody else in the league. That’s usually a good sign that the league is strong and competitive.”

L1: Jérôme Leroy was a very important player for Rennes at the start of the season and he’s been out with a fractured cheekbone. How much of a blow has his absence been?

CB: “Obviously you know when you have a player of Jérôme’s status it’s a blow. Last year, when we lost Jimmy Briand and Kadar Mangane for the end of the season, it really hurt us. They were two main guys in the team out and we felt we could have been pushing for a Champions League place last year, but when you lose players like that it’s difficult. So without Jérôme, he was in great form, creative, he was doing really well for us so we’ve had to adjust a little bit. But he’ll be back soon and that’s just how football is: when someone’s out, someone else has to come in and pick up the slack. And you really have to pull together as a team and that’s what we need to do.”

L1: You mentioned Jimmy Briand whose been out for eight months with a serious knee injury, but he’s almost back now after scoring for the reserves last weekend...

CB: “Yeah, Jimmy’s been looking sharp at the moment. He’s been training with us every day and his fitness is coming back. We were really surprised when he first started training with us, like ‘Wow, he looks really sharp despite being out for so long.’ He’s definitely a big part of our team and we’re looking forward to him coming back and playing for us.”

L1: Briand is a goal scorer, but you are a goal-scorer as well, with 11 international goals to your name which is a great return for a defender. But with Rennes you’ve got just one in league and a goal in the French Cup final. Would you like to score more in France?

CB: “Yes, scoring is definitely part of my game that I can bring to the table but unfortunately that’s not going so hot at the moment. But you know, for us defenders, apart from scoring goals, if we’re also nodding the balls down and keeping stuff alive for others to get on the end of then that’s alright with me. It doesn’t show up on the scoresheet, but it’s the team that comes first.”

Ligue1.com - R.Thomson