Girondins de Bordeaux coach Paulo Sousa has called on his players to follow Laurent Koscielny's example after they slipped to their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 Conforama defeat, losing 2-1 to Olympique Lyonnais on Saturday.
Bordeaux were third as recently as Round 16, when they hammered Nîmes Olympique 6-0, but their dramatic dip in form has left them in 13th following their loss to Lyon, and Sousa would like to see more of his players digging deeper.
"The result makes sense," he said at his post-match press conference. "We must congratulate our opponents, they were better in all areas. There was a difference in individual quality but we could compete a bit more. We need to be more determined and have a better state of mind."
Starring role
One player who never let his head go down was Koscielny. The former France international stopped what looked to be a sure OL goal with a last-ditch tackle in the first half, before having an equaliser ruled out for offside late in the second. A three-time FA Cup winner with Arsenal, Koscielny is the player his Bordeaux teammates should aspire to, according to Sousa.
"What worries me more than our consecutive defeats is seeing some players playing within themselves," he said. "The road ahead is long for them. It's not a technical or tactical question. To play for Bordeaux you need to have a winning mentality, taking Laurent's example."
Koscielny has started 18 of Bordeaux's Ligue 1 Conforama games this season, helping them to four clean sheets. He will next try to help steady the Bordeaux ship against Pau FC in the Coupe de France on Thursday before resuming league duty at FC Nantes next Sunday.
