Ecuele Manga (ex-Dijon): “It’s very hard mentally”
Angers joins Dijon (2020-2021) and CA Paris (1933-1934) who had experienced a series of 12 defeats in a row. Bruno Ecuele Manga, 34, currently looking for a club, was at the heart of the Burgundian defense. He recounts the difficulties inherent in this situation.
“What happens when you chain defeats like that?
It’s very hard mentally. Because we are fragile, we have lost confidence and, as soon as we concede a goal, we ask ourselves questions, telling ourselves that we are going to lose again, as usual. You are always afraid of doing badly individually, you are afraid of missing something which will lead to a goal, therefore a new defeat. We are plunged into a negative spiral. We have the feeling that it never stops and yet we have to manage to stop this series. We would even like the season to end because it is really tiring in the heads.
How does the group deal with these difficulties?
When the results are not there, there are unfortunately a lot of tensions, and this is what must however be avoided. You need to keep the team together but at some point you have two or three guys who are going to play for them, to show off, to find a club. And there, it becomes more and more difficult because there is no more agreement in training, no more communication.
And when do we end the series?
We are relieved as if we had won ten times in a row. But you have to move on quickly because if you stumble behind it, you fall back into the same faults. »
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