New Olympique Lyonnais boss Laurent Blanc wasn't turning his nose up at the dramatic late point taken in the 1-1 draw at home to Nice in Round 15, but was also clear that his side have plenty of work left to do in order to hit the ground running after the World Cup.
Blanc's record at the helm of Olympique Lyonnais now stands at two wins, two defeats and a draw and compares favourably with their previous five results (four defeats and a draw) under Peter Bosz, but Laurent Blanc is a coach with the experience to know that results are precious but fighting spirit is everything.
'Deserved'
Not for the first time this season, Alexandre Lacazette hit a crucial goal in the late stages, and Blanc felt that his side had done enough to earn it.
"It's a deserved draw. Maybe I'm not objective but, considering the second half we produced, we deserved a point," Blanc told the press after his side had clinched the 1-1 draw with Nice thanks to Alexandre Lacazette's 89th-minute penalty. "Even though we were caught out on the counter-attack at times, we pushed our opponents, and we were better in the second half."
'The lads never gave up'
Blanc clearly got his message across at half-time and OL were better after the break - a fact not lost on Blanc, who knows that any project can take some time to get off the ground.
"We had a few chances, a penalty. Everyone had their moment even though we were very average before half-time. Nice took advantage of it to get a penalty," explained Blanc, clearly happy with the spirit if not the cutting edge shown by his players. "We didn't have much good attacking movement going on and that's why our first shot on target wasn't until the 77th minute. There was a lack of calmness that meant that the pass didn't come at the right moment. But the lads never gave up and pushed for the equaliser."
'We'll play the season with 90% of this squad, that's the reality'
Blanc has the next six weeks to work with his new charges - minus the internationals who will be on World Cup duty - before Ligue 1 Uber Eats resumes on 28 December, and the Ligue 1 Uber Eats title-winning coach with Bordeaux and PSG refused to rule out reinforcements over the winter break.
"I think we need to strengthen the squad but we'll play the season with 90% of this squad, that's the reality," offered the seasoned coach. "We need to bring in some experience. We've played five games with me, three of them away from home, and we have taken seven points. It's not extraordinary, but we are making progress."
OL's first Ligue 1 Uber Eats match after the break is the Round 16 trip to Brittany to face Stade Brestois 29 on Wednesday, 28 December.
>> MATCH REPORT: Lacazette rescues draw for Lyon on Benzema's homecoming
