Dennis Appiah, who joined Saint Etienne from FC Nantes in January, has already contributed to the Greens’ defense with more solid performances in Ligue 2.
The experienced defender talks about his arrival in Forez and his professional decision as a guest on the show 100% Sainte on France Bleu Saint-Etienne Loire.
Saint Etienne has moved from 20th to 18th on the league table with 18 points after 19 games. A win for the Greens against Sochaux in their next league game will propel them to 16th.
“You can think that I was good at Nantes because I played a lot of matches. But the Greens project arrived, it could scare those around me more than me (last place). I’m pretty sure we’ll make it, otherwise I wouldn’t have come. In the locker room, things were going well. From training, I saw that there was an ability to do better,” Appiah said.
“The descent hurt last year, and the team was traumatized. With less confidence, we move more slowly. I would have liked to play against Juventus with Nantes in the Europa League, but I felt that I was going to have less playing time at the end of the season there. On my last clubs, I stayed at least three years,”
“My goal is to stay at ASSE, to stay on first and then move up to Ligue 1. Sainté is a brand in France. When the Greens arrive, we think twice before saying no,” he added.
“With the arrivals this winter and a good dynamic, we can show a completely different face (…). With Caen and Monaco in L2, we were up because we conceded few goals, it has to go through that. If we manage to defend well, we will then be effective in scoring. Kader Bamba? He needed to play, he has a lot of talent, he goes very fast over the first 10 meters, he is technically correct. He can eliminate but also make others play,”
“He will do us good, he wants to prove that he has the level to play in L1 or L2. If we manage to defend well, we will then be effective in scoring. Kader Bamba? He needed to play, he has a lot of talent, he goes very fast over the first 10 meters, he is technically correct. He can eliminate but also make others play. He will do us good, he wants to prove that he has the level to play in L1 or L2,” he concluded.