‘I read nonsense all the time’ – OGC Nice’s Franck Haise dismisses fourth place ‘poisoned chalice’ claims | OneFootball

French teams that have qualified for the UEFA Champions League play-offs in recent years have not tended to fair well. In recent times, AS Monaco and Olympique de Marseille have both failed to make their way into the Champions League proper, losing in the qualifiers that take part in the month of August. Lille OSC, of course, did qualify via this route this season.

To participate, clubs return early to pre-season training and failure to progress has previously caused Ligue 1 clubs to struggle domestically. That happened to Marseille last season as the club missed out on all forms of European competition; the same happened to Monaco the previous year.

However, Franck Haise has denied that, for Nice, it woul be a kind of “poisoned chalice”, although there is lingering debate as to whether it is better to finish fifth, qualify for the UEFA Europa League and miss out on those draining qualifiers, the first round of which takes place before the start of the domestic campaign.

“Do these people want us to finish 14th? How can you expect competitors to want to finish fifth? To even think about it? I read nonsense all the time. How can you say that? So will everyone lose so as not to finish fourth (the position that will see a team reach the Champions League qualifiers). I’m telling you, everyone wants to be fourth! Even if it is hard, it is another chance [to qualify for the Champions League] and one that I want to take. When you have a chance, you have to take it 100%,” said the Nice manager at a press conference attended by Get French Football News.

Le Gym head into the final gameweek of the season in fourth place. They will face Stade Brestois at the Allianz Riviera on Saturday. A win and they will take part in those Champions League qualifiers, considered by some a “poisoned chalice” but certainly not by Haise.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Nice