Antoine Kombouaré urged his players to seize the chance to become the first Nantes team to reach the final of the Coupe de France for more than 20 years when they take on Monaco on Wednesday night.
Kombouaré's charges welcome Philippe Clément's side to the Stade Beaujoire. The winner will play Nice in the final on 8 May at the Stade de France.
"The players have definitely worked hard to have a great season," said Kombouaré. "They are the driving force behind what we have achieved."
Unnecessary modesty. Kombouaré arrived at a crisis-riddled Nantes on 11 February 2021 to take over from the former France boss Raymond Domenech.
He was the fourth head coach of the season and was confronted with a team fighting for its Ligue 1 life. Thoughts of a first Coupe de France trophy since 2000 were light years away.
Change
Kombouaré managed to keep them in the top flight after seeing off Toulouse in the relegation play-offs.
This season Nantes have steered well clear of the drop zone.
After 26 of the campaign's 38 games, they lie seventh - just four points off a place in next season's European competitions.
On 19 February, they bedazzled a Paris Saint-Germain side containing Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar to win 3-1.
"Unlike last year, we're playing matches without the fear of going down to Ligue 2," said Kombouaré.
"It's a huge weight off our shoulders. That's why we are perhaps a little more dominant and more confident."
Skills
Their opponents on Wednesday evening have been unable to flaunt such attributes.
Monaco shipped two goals in the last nine minutes of their Ligue 1 match last weekend against Reims to lose 2-1.
The defeat left them in ninth place - a point behind Nantes - but still among the scrap for the European places.
But it is a far cry from the start of the 2021/22 season. Under Niko Kovac, they began in the Champions League play-offs before dropping into the Europa League.
"You want to win every match," the France international Aurelien Tchouaméni told the French sports newspaper L'Equipe.
Chance
"What happened last weekend against Reims has no importance. We're going to be playing the semi-final of the Coupe de France."
Tchouaméni was part of the team that went down limply to Paris Saint- Germain in last year's final of the Coupe de France.
It gave PSG a record-extending 14th title. Monaco have not hoisted the crown since 1991.
"We're just lacking a bit of luck at the moment," added Tchouaméni.
"We haven't been playing that badly."
But the statistics would seem to suggest otherwise. Since Clément was installed in January, Monaco have taken nine out of 21 points in Ligue 1.
The Coupe de France victories over Lens in the last 16 and Amiens in the quarter-finals represent the only consistencies of his reign in the principality.
"I have been lucky enough to win the Belgian Cup several times in my career," said Clément.
"These are wonderful moments. It's a chance for the players to go down in the history of the club. It's an extra motivation. Monaco hasn't won the cup for 31 years. It is a long time."
