“Like a burden on the shoulders”

The Saint-Gallois, first of all, led Friborg-Gottéron to its first trophy with the victory at the Spengler Cup before operating a very nice raising in the league. The new coach looks back at these five weeks of sweet madness for Keystone-Ats.

Lars Leuenberger, has not the Spengler Cup victory changed everything for Friborg-Gottéron?

“There was like a burden on the shoulders to wear in the club with this still virgin track record. Now, this weight that we could really feel is no longer there. This victory has come to the point in instilling a new momentum and to arouse new hopes. “

Since this Spengler Cup, the team has straightened the championship bar insofar as it has always picked up at least one point in the last twelve games. Are you surprised by these results?

“Everyone is convinced within the club that we can impose on all the National League teams. I told the players to take a match after match, not to watch the ranking. It may be a speech Simplistic, but it was the only one to hold in our situation.

What are the keys to your success today?

“We have not changed our background game system. We have worked on the details, these small adjustments that can make all the difference. And over the days, the players found this faith which allows to reverse the mountains.

Was it not defensive that the adjustments you are talking about were the most striking?

“Yes, in our own area. We improved the game without a puck. It was, in my eyes, from a really essential point.”

Your journey as a coach makes you pass above all for a service firefighter. Does that bother you?

“Such a comparison makes me neither hot nor cold. We wrote a lot about me. I was called twice during the season in Bern, once in Bienne. But I have, moreover, stayed almost three years in Olten.

In Olten precisely, you lived almost a year ago the first dismissal of your career. How did you digest it?

“At the beginning, such a decision made against you is never easy to assimilate. But that is part of the risks of the profession. I was able to face this situation very quickly even if it is never pleasant to Find without work.

And there was the call of Friborg …

“I had previously received interesting offers. But the leaders of Friborg convinced me. I know the rule of the game: an interim to be assumed until the end of the season before becoming the No 2 of Roger Rönnberg with which I exchange very regularly.

News are the two matches against Kloten and Rapperswil before a break of almost two weeks. Will this cut not break your momentum?

“I believe that the team will need this cut. These five weeks that we have gone through have been very trying. It will also allow us to really work in training. The rehearsal of matches had prohibited it.”

For you, what is it for this season to be a success?

“It is not easy to answer this question. We want to continue the process that we have started and see how far it can lead us. But the qualification for the play-off remains the objective.”