PARIS, Dec 21 - Brief news from Ligue 1 ahead of
this weekend matches:
* Olympique Lyon coach Alain Perrin has told his players to
wait until the Nancy game is over on Saturday before thinking
about their holidays.
"It is an important game. Our last two league games have not
been good. We will see if we are able to do the job," Perrin
told the club's Web site (www.olweb.fr).
Lyon, who lost at Caen and were held to a goalless draw by
Nice in their last two league outings, top the standings with 38
points from 18 games and lead second-placed Nancy by four
points.
"The holidays start at 1900 and not before. I want the
players to give their best one more time before the winter
break," said Perrin.
* Nancy played down the importance of the game even though
victory on Saturday would cut the deficit with the six-times
champions to one point.
"This game is not more important than any other one. There
are only three points at stake," said goalkeeper Gennaro
Bracigliano.
Nancy have not won in their last four league games, losing
once and drawing three times.
However, Michael Chretien remained optimistic.
"They are not unbeatable. What if we win? People will say
that we can be champions. That's fair," the midfielder said.
* Defender Jacques Faty has been ruled out of Olympique
Marseille's game against Le Mans on Saturday after picking up an
ankle injury following a rough tackle by team mate Vincent
Gragnic during a training session.
"I am not happy with what happened. It shows a lack of
respect. If a player is frustrated (because he is not in the
starting line-up), he just has to pack and leave," said
Marseille coach Eric Gerets.
* RC Lens coach Jean-Pierre Papin said his struggling team
are looking to gain a psychological boost in the derby against
Lille.
Both sides are hovering just above the relegation zone with
Lille in 15th place with 21 points, while Lens are 16th with 20.
"Of course it's a derby but it's not the most important
thing. We just have to win to pull away from the danger zone",
former France striker Papin told RC Lens's Web site
(www.rclens.fr)
(Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Pritha Sarkar)