Lausanne coach Ludovic Magnin reveals why he doesn't understand the nominations at the awards, why he would have liked to have done without a Christmas break and why it would be arrogant to talk about the title.
Ludovic Magnin, normally coaches and players look forward to the football break over Christmas. Was that also the case for you this season?
(Smiles). Let's put it this way: in my first two seasons at Lausanne, I was very happy about the Christmas break. We were in trouble before that and it gave me the opportunity to make a fresh start. That's why I don't want to moan now. But of course, when you're on such a run and have the kind of energy in the team that we had before the break, you want to keep playing.
Are you satisfied with the preparation?
It's always difficult to assess whether a preparation was good. But we've done everything we can to make sure we're ready to face Luzern on Sunday. It will be a very important, explosive game against a very good opponent who is only one point behind us.
Did you show your players cheering pictures at the start of training to get them back into the flow immediately?
Not yet. It's about us realizing that without effort and work, the kind of three months we've had are not possible. If we're one percent happy and satisfied and let up, that's the end of the run. A season is settled at the end.
For a long time, Lausanne often played well under you but didn't win in the end. How did that change so suddenly and where can it lead?
Even at the start of the season, we often played well and couldn't win. Then came two or three key games that showed us that we really can win with our risk-taking style of football. The top six was our goal at the start of the season. When we said that, a lot of people laughed. The top six remains our goal now. Eight teams are currently close together, and we have to leave two of them behind us.
In your situation, other coaches talk about winning the championship. What needs to happen for you to use the word champion?
I don't think we're there yet as a club. Two years ago, we were still in the Challenge League. We are aware that we have a lot of steps to take. If you look at the last time Lausanne won the title, it would be arrogant to just talk about it. But we've already experienced a lot in football, we look from game to game. In the end, we'll see where we end up. At the moment the table is very nice, I enjoyed looking at it over the vacations.
Probably the biggest talent in Swiss football is still with Lausanne. Many have speculated that Alvyn Sanches will leave the club in this transfer window. How does it look?
He's still here. But anyone who knows the business knows that there are no certainties. That's why I won't be making any big statements until the first of February, but the player has clearly communicated that he wants to stay with us until the summer. I think he wants to finish the great journey we're on with us. And then leave in the summer, that's the plan. But I can hardly remember the last time a plan worked out in football (smiles). But I'm surprised that you call Alvyn the greatest talent, as he wasn't even nominated at the Football Awards.
You would certainly have nominated Sanches...
... Yes! And not just in one category.
As best youngster and best Super League player?
He couldn't even be in the running for any of the other awards (laughs). For many experts, he is the greatest talent in Swiss football. But this nomination was apparently decided by people who had a different opinion. Having worked with Alvyn for almost three years, it's legitimate for me to disagree.
