27.11.2012, 02:03
Renewal of Montpellier

Despite riding the recent wave of success the head coach of French champions Canayer still calls for carefulness.

Renewal of Montpellier

Montpellier has become another team since Issam Tej, Dragan Gajič and Nikola Karabatić have returned back to the team. Kept away from the courts for nearly a month and a half because of the betting affair, they played their first game back with the team on 11 November in Sélestat.

Since, Montpellier has had four victories and a draw in the French league and in the VELUX EHF Champions League. They beat Partizan twice in the European top flight and have given themselves the chance to qualify for the Last 16. An especially decisive match will take place in León at the beginning of February.

"We knew that game against Belgrade was really important for the qualification. We found our mobility back, we were strong defensively, especially at the end, that's Montpellier's trademark.It's good to feel this solidarity back. But there are a lot of games left to be played, so we must be careful not to become too euphoric," Issam Tej, Montpellier's line player said for lequipe.fr:

In the French league, they managed to win at Nantes, even coming back in the game after being down by four goals at half time.

In Sélestat, the three players even scored 27 of their team's 30 goals, showing how important they can be for Montpellier.

"It felt strange at the beginning to have the three guys back, just because of the affair and everything. But they finally apologised to the squad, and now everything is back on track.

"The game in Nantes proves that the Montpellier's spirit is still here, and that we will still fight tough to gain trophies," Michaël Guigou, Montpellier's left winger told L'Équipe.

The performances of these three players have even put in the shade the fact that William Accambray and Mathieu Grebille are out due to injuries until the end of the year.

"But we've got to be careful. Not everything turns from black to white instantly.The situation is really precarious at the moment, we can't know where we will be at the end of december or in june. We want to give our fans  good image, because they've supported us through the storm," Patrice Canayer, Montpellier' head coach told sports365.fr.

TEXT: Kevin Domas / br