Roux's Auxerre x-factor

By Matt Spiro

AJ Auxerre coach Guy Roux is confident his young team can get the result they need away to Rangers FC to qualify for the next round of the UEFA Cup on Wednesday.

Poor start
The French club got off to a poor start in Group F, drawing their first game at home to Grazer AK then suffering a 2-0 defeat at AZ Alkmaar. But a 5-1 home win over KS Amica Wronki has moved them into the qualifying positions, third in the group ahead of Grazer on goal difference. "Drawing our first game at home has caused us problems," Roux told uefa.com. "We really needed to win because the away matches against Alkmaar and Rangers were always going to be harder."

'Tough group'
Alkmaar's impressive form - they have won three matches out of three - has left Rangers, Auxerre, and Grazer battling it out for the final two positions. Roux is not surprised to see the Dutch team top, saying: "When I saw the draw I knew that Rangers and Alkmaar would be the strongest teams. Alkmaar have won something like 13 out of their last 14 matches and the one they didn't win was a draw against [AFC] Ajax. Make no mistake, we're in a very tough group."

Pieroni hat-trick
Auxerre nonetheless have a good chance of going through thanks to their demolition of Amica in which Belgian striker Luigi Pieroni scored a hat-trick. "We wanted to score as many as we could against the Poles so that we could get a better goal difference than Grazer," Roux explained. "Now against Rangers we only need to match Grazer's score against Alkmaar to maintain our position."

Preparation time
That Auxerre are in a position to qualify is testament to the rebuilding work that Roux has carried out this season. Four French internationals - Philippe Mexes, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Olivier Kapo and Djibril Cissé - left the Abbé Deschamps stadium in the summer, and Roux admitted that replacing them has not been an easy task. "They're all quality players and it's sad to see them go," said the 66-year-old. "But I knew some time in advance that they would be leaving so I had time to prepare."

'Terrific defender'
Ironically Boumsong will be looking to bar Auxerre's passage to the next round when he lines up for Rangers. "I'd rather we didn't have Jean-Alain to get past," Roux said with a smile. "He's a terrific defender and I'm not surprised to hear that he's doing well in Scotland. We've kept in contact since he left and hopefully we'll have a chat after the game. He's someone I have a lot of respect for."

Youth development
Roux has compensated for the departures not only by signing Pieroni, Belgium's top scorer last season with 28 goals in 30 games for R. Excelsior Mouscron, midfield player Benoît Cheyrou and defender René Bolf, but also by involving in the senior squad a string of players from the youth team including defensive trio Jean-Pascal Mignot, Younes Kaboul and Bacary Sagna.

'Plenty of talent'
Although the current side is one of the youngest in Ligue 1, they are fourth in the table and remain in contention for three cups. Roux, who first took charge of Auxerre as a 23-year-old in 1961, believes he has the makings of another strong team. "When players leave it frees up room in the squad for me to blood youngsters and that's what I enjoy doing most," he said. "I have plenty of talent to work with and they're progressing nicely. I'm optimistic that this group will go a long way."