Speaking in an exclusive interview with France Football, Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin compared the attitudes of coaches in the Premier League and France.
“If I had gone to the Premier League before, I would perhaps be further ahead in my career than I am now. Because with the intensity of the matches, the rhythm that the fixture list demands, notably at the end of the year, the box-to-box style, all of that forces you to go deep into your potential. In Ligue 1, with the rhythm that is inferior, you do not have as many sprints at very high intensity to complete, so maybe you don’t push yourself as much as your engine could be pushed. This is no secret, in England, I have had to work harder.”
“In England, they give you ‘the benefit of the doubt’, people have faith in your capacity to manage it all. In France, a lot of people think there is an exact science. “You must do it like this, do it like that, it’s better for you…” In France, when you are young, they baby you. Even when you are no longer a child. Me, for example, I became a father very early. I was treated like a kid when lots of other older players did not have the responsibility that I had in my life. It was hard to have this schoolboy treatment: “If you do not do what I say, you won’t play,” etc. It was not really something for me.”
