Jérémy Clément looks back at PSG’s opening two games of the season and ahead to this weekend’s trip to Valenciennes, on Saturday, August 22 at 19:00.

Jérémy, do you feel the team is getting stronger?
“The squad hasn’t changed much, which is an advantage. We were better last weekend against Le Mans (3-1) than we were the week before against Montpellier (1-1). We’re feeling better and better physically and we’re playing better football out on the park. In the opening two games we conceded goals through a lack of concentration. There are still things we need to work on, but things are starting to come together. We showed some good stuff last Saturday against Le Mans, even if we should have killed the game off earlier.”

Do you feel a special importance in Saturday’s game against Valenciennes for coach Antoine Kombouaré?
“It’s his former club so he must be getting impatient to play this game. He’ll want a good result, a win. But apart from the match, I think he’ll enjoy catching up with his former players. Me and my teammates want to win every match, so there’s no extra pressure this weekend. Valenciennes will be ready for us. They’ve lost their opening two games and will be desperate for the points which makes this a tough match.”


Are Paris going for the title?
“Other teams are better placed than us. We had a good season last year in finishing sixth, but we missed out at the end. We need to reproduce the same season, and just change the end. We should be trying to qualify for Europe. For the moment, I’m not thinking about the title, I prefer to take each game as it comes and we’ll see where we are in January or February to see what we can realistically aim for.”

Are you looking forward to the return of Guillaume Hoarau from injury?
“He’s a very good player and scored a lot of goals last season. It will be good to have him back, even if Peguy (Luyindula) and Mevlut (Erding) are doing a good job. The most important thing is that everyone, including the strikers are available for selection.”