SM Caen, who remains on three defeats and a draw in Ligue 1, now flirts with the red zone. Before the international truce and a series of duels against direct competitors, the Normans need to regain confidence, and not to return empty handed of their trip to Bordeaux this Sunday (15 pm).

A single point taken from the last four games of L1, a single goal scored in the game in the last five, the lost confidence, this red area now visible in the rearview mirror.

The Stade Malherbe, 17th in Ligue 1 after the victory of Amiens in Toulouse this Saturday night, is tied with Dijon (18th) who will challenge the OM at 17 pm. It goes through one of those dirty periods whose club structure knows all too well the intimate springs.

The strength of habit

Fabien Mercadal has never experienced that in L1. But in the past, he has also known, at lower levels, those moments of imbalance in which anxiety is on the alert, questions are piling up, the environment is getting tense. "When we started the season, we knew we would be under pressure and we should fight," he says today.

The coach handled the week in his own way, in a style very different from Franck Dumas or Patrice Garande. He positivé all he could, especially the first 30 minutes against Rennes, considered "very good" after overhaul with all the staff and players.

He was visited by Gilles Sergent, who came to preach the good word to the group. "The intervention of the president validated the fact that we live a difficult time, we can not deny it, but also the fact, with the whole club, that we were welded. It must be a force, and we must be able to impose things on Bordeaux. "

"We must above all help the players ..."

Unlike the method decided this week in Dijon, for example, Mercadal seems to have avoided shouts of voice. "When there are players who do not apply clear instructions or do not have the right attitude, you have to raise your pitch. When you apply and you are in trouble, that there is a mental problem to be solved, is it smart to do it? I do not have cheats. It is important to help players to get through this bad time. "

We will see later, and after, from here the winter break, when Malherbe has chained Monaco, Angers, Nîmes, Strasbourg, Toulouse and Reims, if the staff finds the right levers. "We're working, we're alive, including at the points, I recall," says Mercadal. We are looking for solutions all, including frames. The reflection is simple: what can I bring me, moreover to the team? The danger would be to say that it is the fault of the other. It would be a weakness. "

If the Caennais had the good idea to anticipate their recovery in the soulless stage of Matmut Atlantique, where they have taken their ease in recent seasons, everyone would be better off. "An urgency of points? It would be lying to say no, "said Jonathan Gradit, who like Crivelli found his training club, a priori in the shoes of a holder.

Baysse "suspended" because of agreement with Bordeaux at the loan of the defender in Normandy, Guilbert should redefanance in the axis of a classic defense.

Sankoh way Matuidi?

Mercadal fears the animation of the corridors Girondins and evoked the possibility of adopting in turn the "mode" of defense to three ... To better blur the tracks?

This organization was little worked this week, unlike a 4-2-3-1 where the surprise could come from the tenure of Sankoh as right midfielder, as Matuidi team France.

This formula had been tried in Dijon, during one of the two victories of the SMC this season (the only one outside), and Sankoh had not demeaned in this hybrid role, where he would be responsible in particular for blocking Kamano, the best Bordeaux striker.

Deminguet played in axial support of Crivelli. But here it would be rather Khaoui, which is still expected a good match with Malherbe, who would hold the rope.

Mercadal continues to look for the right balance in a team that does not know how to defend well and attack well at the same time. The SMC has not scored outside since September 22 in Saint-Etienne, and except this famous match in Dijon, he has always conceded at least one goal far from his bases. The time begins to squeeze.

The figure: 4

The SM Caen is, with the OGC Nice, the only team of Ligue 1 which has not lost any match in Bordeaux these last four seasons. The Caen, who won 2-0 last season (goals of Santini and Rodelin midfielder), had a draw 0-0 in 2016-17, a 4-1 win in 2015-16, and a 1-1 draw in 2014-2015, during the season of recovery among the elite.

Probable teams

BORDEAUX: 1. Costil (c) - 3. Palencia, 4. Koundé, 25. Pablo, 20. Sabaly - 19. Lerager, 5. Otavio, 13. Chouaméni - 10. Kalu, 7. Briand, 11. Kamano. : 16. Chick (g), 29. Poundje, 14. Jovanovic, 23. Vada, 26. Basic, 12. De Preville, 9. Cornelius. Coach: Ricardo.Absents: Sankharé (suspended), Lewczuk (injured), Karamoh (agreement with Caen), Plasil, Gajic, Youssouf, A. Mendy (choice).

CAEN: 30. Samba - 14. Gradit, 21. Guilbert, 24. Djiku, 22. Mbengue - 6. Oniangue (c), 10. Fajr - 5. Sankoh, 7. Khaoui, 12. Beauvue - 27. Crivelli. : 1. Zelazny (g), 3. Armougom, 4. Diomandé, 8. Peeters, 17. Deminguet, 18. Tchokounté, 11. Ninga. Trainer: Fabien Mercadal.Absents: Bammou, Genevois (injured), Baysse (agreement with Bordeaux), Imorou, Dabo, Meal, Alhadhur, Louis (choice).

Referee : Mr. Rainville.