No time to panic, says Girard

Coach Rene Girard has challenged Montpellier to show the mental resolve required to win a league title against Valenciennes on Saturday.

Montpellier lead Ligue 1 by two points from Paris Saint-Germain despite losing 2-1 to Lorient last weekend.

With six games left in the season, Girard believes his team cannot afford to dwell on that negative result.

“It’s no longer time to panic or wonder, it’s time to move on,” the 58-year-old said on Thursday.

“Like I always say, we must keep fighting even when we’re tired. When there are six games to go, we don’t think anymore. We just keep going 100 percent, trying to finish the race.”

Girard does not believe the loss to Lorient exposed any significant weaknesses in his players.

“If it was something chronic I would have been worried but it just happened once, so it’s OK,” he said.

“I just hope I won’t have to do this again soon. It’s always good to set the record straight, to point out what we did good or bad.”

Montpellier have never won a French league title but can strengthen their position with victory against Valenciennes.

Girard’s team will come up against the third-worst attack in Ligue 1 on Saturday and, considering Montpellier have the second-best defensive record in France’s top division this season, they should expect to win.