Le Guen makes light of PSG's plight

A 4-2 defeat in Lyon left Paris Saint-Germain FC in the Ligue 1 drop zone but coach Paul Le Guen maintained he had "faith in the future".

Relegation zone
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard's surprising 1-0 win at Olympique de Marseille on Saturday had pushed PSG into the relegation zone, and a defeat at league leaders Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday left them in 18th place, but former Lyon coach Le Guen insisted he was encouraged by his side's display as they battled back from 2-0 down only to lose 4-2.

Gerland comeback
Le Guen led the Gerland club to three titles in a row between 2003/04 and 2005/06, and twice took them to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. He left Lyon and had an ill-fated spell as Rangers FC manager before joining PSG. "Coming back to the Gerland is always special, but I had other things on my mind this time," he said.

First relegation
While the threat of a first relegation since their formation in 1970 is a real one for PSG with eight league games to go, Le Guen said: "I saw good things in Lyon. The spirit and team play was good. Efficiency remains the key, both in attack and defensively. I have faith in the future" He added: "Lyon's pace, power and technique made the difference, unfortunately."

Tide turning
Zoumana Camara struck back for PSG after Lyon went 2-0 up before Jérôme Rothen levelled the scores at 2-2, and the latter was convinced that the visitors could have pressed on for victory, saying: "We had the feeling that Lyon were getting nervous. However, we conceded those two goals when we could also have scored a couple."

Amateur opponents
Two points adrift of RC Lens and safety, two-time French champions PSG were bottom of the table after 29 games last season only to pull out of their nosedive, and they will hope to have made similar strides towards survival by the time they meet amateur side US Jeanne D'Arc Carquefou in the French Cup quarter-finals on 15 or 16 April.

'Both finals'
Their next game sees PSG meet Lens in the League Cup final at the Stade de France on Saturday, although the 2 April game against fellow strugglers RC Srasbourg at the Parc des Princes may be the more important match. "Our next games are both finals," said Rothen. "We will survive. A couple of other teams are also having a hard time."