Football: Interview with Foresters FC coach Harold Hoareau |28 April 2020

Foresters coach Harold Hoareau

‘Foresters fighting for silverware amid crisis’

High-flying SeyPearl Premier League side Foresters are fighting to finish the season with at least one title amid the current financial crisis the club are facing.

Sports NATION spoke to Foresters head coach Harold Hoareau and he said the club are finding it difficult to meet their financial obligations towards the players but remained focused on their target this season.

“It is quite difficult at the moment as without financial support and sponsorship in this time of economic meltdown, it makes the situation complicated especially for our foreign players in terms of allowance. We will have to address this issue in the coming months when we will review their monthly allowance and we are hoping they will accept to take a pay cut though we still need to provide them with accommodation,” explained Foresters head coach Hoareau.

Coach Hoareau added that since they have recruited quite a big squad as they go in search of silverware, they therefore have a huge financial bill each month which they need to find ways to bring down drastically if they are to survive as a club.

“We have some top players as we are a big club and so we have a lot of expenses, but we have started to talk to our players especially the local ones where they will have to understand that during this crisis, we cannot afford to offer them an allowance which they have benefited from during better times. So they will have to agree to play football out of their love of the sport and with their heart for the club as amateurs and make sacrifice for the club,” suggested coach Hoareau.

The Foresters coach also said they welcomed the promise from the Seychelles Football Federation that it would be assisting all its members, though he is doubtful if they will benefit from the government relief scheme for their foreign players. He even admitted that there is too much paper work and it is quite a long and complicated process.

“We will try to meet our obligation towards our three foreign players for the time being and we are somewhat lucky as other clubs have four, but we will see for how long we can sustain this payment. We hope we can end the season with our full squad as we challenge for the top honours,” claimed coach Hoareau who has on his roster Nigerian striker Kazeem Adeyeri as well as the Malagasy duo of Leonard Besabotsy and Jean Tigana.

Despite the serious concerns over finance, this has not swayed coach Hoareau’s determination from his main focus which is a kind of obsession of winning silverware with this Mont Fleuri-based club whom he has transformed from one of the minnows into one of the top clubs in one season where they are placed second in the SeyPearl Premier League and are breathing down league leaders St Michel’s neck.

“We did ourselves a big favour in our last match when we beat St Louis and then Northern Dynamo defeated St Michel which puts us back in the league race and re-ignites our chances. If we can win our match with St Michel which was supposed to be our next fixture, we will be edging closer to the league crown as long as we can collect maximum points in our remaining matches,” reflected coach Hoareau.

Coach Hoareau also has an extra motivation to aim for the title as he went mighty close last season with the army team Red Star Defence Forces who had one hand on the league title but was stunned by LightStars in their last league match at Stad Linite to hand the crown to Côte d’Or. This near miss still haunts the Foresters coach.

“I know in my head that we should have been champions last season as we had dominated the season but we lost the decisive match because there were too many inferences in team affairs for our final match which still baffles me as I had led the team with my philosophy until this last match when others tried to come in my way and we suffered a major setback at the final hurdle and this still hurts,” explained coach Hoareau.

In fact coach Hoareau lost two cups in dramatic fashion last season as they were also beaten by LightStars in the Airtel Cup final in a match where they were firm favourites but were shocked by the Praslin outfit who returned to haunt them in the league to gift their neighbours Côte d’Or the league crown on a plate.

“I should have done the double last season but was left empty handed which still bothers me and I want to try and aim for the double this season as we are in a strong position, but even if we win one title, it will make my day and it will be a good achievement,” stated Hoareau whose team have been drawn against lowly Bel Ombre in the round16 in the SFF cup.

However, coach Hoareau says that for now they are still hoping that the lockdown will be relaxed in the near future so that they can get going as he is adamant that the season must be completed to decide a few pertinent issues.

“It is important that the league is completed as long as the health department is satisfied with the situation in the country to give approval for sports activities to resume and we will need at least three weeks to prepare for the restart of the league where I am convinced we can play two matches in a week to complete the fixtures. This is crucial to decide the clubs who will be promoted and relegated, but in our case, it will determine if we can win the coveted league title which is my dream and keeps me going in this sport where I devote a lot of time and energy to achieve success,” coach Hoareau related to Sports NATION in conclusion.

R. J-L.