Persistent PSG keen to stay grounded

Paris Saint-Germain FC won for the fourth match in a row on Saturday 2-1 against AS Saint-Etienne to climb to second in Ligue 1 for the first time since November 2005, but their coach Paul Le Guen is intent on keeping talk of the title to a minimum.

Clément winner
Having already beaten FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, SM Caen and FC Nantes in recent weeks PSG saw off Les Verts with another confidence-boosting victory ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Cup Round of 32 first-leg encounter at home to VfL Wolfsburg. It is over four years since they last registered four successive wins and they got off to an excellent start when defender Mamadou Sakhoa, a day after his 19th birthday, fired them ahead with 26 minutes gone. Dimitri Payet levelled for St-Etienne seven minutes later, but PSG were soon back in front, Jérémy Clément sparking joy among the 42,000-strong crowd when he headed in a Ludovic Giuly cross at the far post.

Le Guen cautious
Adding to what had been an excellent evening for the hosts, top-scorer Guillaume Hoarau returned from injury towards the end. For all the positives, though, the spectre of relegation battles over the last two years still looms large. "At the beginning of the season, we were very careful, but now the talk has changed," explained Le Guen. "We're second but we're surrounded by teams with more potential than us. The aim will be to continue playing as well as we did against St-Etienne."

Grenoble test
PSG moved to within a point of leaders Olympique Lyonnais on Saturday, though the champions stretched that to four following their 3-1 win at Le Havre AC on Sunday. Talk of topping the table was brushed off by PSG captain Claude Makelele who was simply happy his side no longer need to worry about relegation. "If we're still in this position with two or three games left, then we will think about winning the crown, but with 24 games [from 38] played there's no reason to yet," he said.

Makelele pleased
"We're happy to have secured top-flight status but we just want to maintain our level." With the former Chelsea FC player close to peak form, and Giuly also impressing, it might be hard for PSG to keep optimism in check amongst their passionate fans. After taking on Wolfsburg, PSG will hope to make it five wins out of five at Grenoble Foot 38 on Saturday with fierce rivals Olympique de Marseille waiting in the wings on 15 March.