Taking charge of the destiny of RC Lens seemed only right for Jean-Guy Wallemme as he represented des Sang et Or for over four-hundred matches in his playing career. Restoring pride to the now relegated Ligue 2 side could not be in better hands and the club made a masterful move bringing him in to replace Jean-Pierre Papin this past summer. Peering into the future, not only does promotion seem in the cards but he will push the club quickly upwards once they do so.However Monsieur Wallemme will not be willing to sit and wait for a possible encounter next campaign and as side faces PSG in the Coupe de la Ligue today. Speaking at the pre-match press conference he sent out clear-cut signals of the furious intent of his side:
“We’ll do everything we can to cause an upset, though.”
While his words stressed moving beyond the foul event in last years final, the pride of the crest that he runs through his claret is evident. A proud man who started with Lens in his teens over twenty years ago, he will push his club forward to upset the Parisians.
Paul Le Guen has indicated he will be juggling his lineup although he recognizes Lens represent a “serious challenge” as they are “a second-division team with first-division players.”
Critiqued in the past for not utilizing his top shelf talent in Cup matches he responded:
“Just because you rotate players for a cup game doesn’t mean you are giving up. We are just taking full advantage of our squad, and we have no intention of taking it easy.”
Although lineups have yet to be announced, this indicates that we could see Péguy Luyindula and Mateja Kežman paired up-front. While some might question this approach, the Serbian international, Mateja Kežman has proven to be up to every challenge when given the opportunity. Although both clubs will work hard to repair the damage of last year, on the pitch PSG will need to be ready of Lens intense desire to step up and restore pride and with Jean-Guy Wallemme in-charge look for the toughest of challenges.
