Antonetti : “Without the Pinault family...”

In the press conference before Rennes - Rustavi, Frédéric Antonetti paid tribute to François and François-Henri Pinault, without whom he thinks the arrival of a good centre-forward would have been properly impossible.

Four days before Ligue 1 returns, the Rennes manager confirmed that he was still looking for a player to add the finishing touch to the « constitution” of his squad for 2011-2012. “With Pierre (Dréossi), we try to build a squad as competitive as possible with the means we have, and principally with the Pinault family when it comes to the striker”.

Indeed, the recruitment of a striker will be clearly a costly operation, according to the latest declarations of Pierre Dréossi, and considering the profile sought. “If the Pinault family wasn’t there, the striker would never arrive, the Rennais have to know that, Antonetti continues. Everyone has to realise that the arrival of the striker we want to hire, this arrival that will bring added value to the squad, will only happen because the Pinault hamily has agreed on it”.

At the beginning of January, Patrick Le Lay affirmed: “If we qualify for Europa League, then we will have a possibility to invest, probably in attack. Recruit a very good striker to strengthen the squad for the following season, and then try to clinch a second or third position in order to qualify for the Champions’ League and start writing history”. Time to honour the promises?