‘I wanted to be really ambitious’ – Will Still frustrated by Reims transfer policy | OneFootball

Will Still has revealed some of his frustrations with Stade de Reims’ priorities in an interview with The Athletic.

It had been previously reported that there were tensions between Reims and their manager following the sale of Azor Matusiwa (25) to Stade Rennais during the January transfer window.

The midfielder had been a key component to Les Rouges et Blancs and losing him midseason to a rival for the club’s now fading European ambitions had left the manager unimpressed, and in a candid statement before this latest interview he had declared “this transfer does not fill me with joy.”

However, now Still was able to shed some more light on the situation, “Because of the DNA of the club, and the way the club is run, we get players in and then we sell them… So, every six months to a year, you just have to renew the whole squad and the whole team.”

It’s an aspect to managing Reims that Still understands but still feels limited by, “The club tried to explain that it was an opportunity and we had to do it. I get it. I get it totally, and I respect it. But I wanted to be really ambitious and challenge myself and the team right to the end. And it’s like, ‘Right, we won’t get the chance to do that.’”

Fading ambitions for Will Still’s ever-changing squad

By the midseason break, Reims were up to fifth in the table, a position if maintained good enough to clinch qualification to the Europa Conference League, but were met with a difficult January where the team lost six players to the Africa Cup of Nations and AFC Asian Cup.

Still had in the proceeding months attempted to convince the club to strengthen the squad and bring in reinforcements, to no avail. And with the sale of Matusiwa, Still was instead left to rebuild rather than consolidate “we need a bit of a moment to reflect, start again, and find a new team. Which is what we seem to be doing every six months.”

“You can either make a bit of money and sell players, stay a stable club in Ligue 1 where we finish between eighth and 12th, or you decide to really push on, keep your best players, do that for a year or two, get into European competitions, and make your money.” It’s clear which Still would prefer.

GFFN | Nick Hartland