Will Still explains his big RC Lens decision for the first time after Sunderland head coach talks
Will Still has said that he ‘didn’t have to think long’ in choosing to accept RC Lens’ offer to be their new head coach.
Still was heavily linked with the job at Sunderland, who have subsequently appointed Régis Le Bris. Sunderland believed they were close to appointing Still after extensive talks before the Ligue 1 side made their move. In his official unveiling as the new head coach on Friday, Still said that it was a club he had long admired and that the lure of competing in European football and the top end of Ligue 1 was too good to turn down.
“The first contacts took place at the beginning of June I would say,” Still said.
There are expected to be some significant departures from the playing squad at RC Lens this summer but the head coach said he was quickly reassured by the club’s ambition in talks ahead of his appointment.
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“The club’s communication has been quite open and clear,” Still said.
“All that I was promised was to be as competitive as possible in Ligue 1 or Europe. We know that there are certain sales to be made and a balance to be made but we are going to remain faithful to the values of the club for several years which is to be competitive and to try to annoy as many people and teams in front of us as possible.”
Still was one of a five-man shortlist for the Sunderland vacancy, with the club moving quickly to try and get a deal done when he left Stade de Reims late in the last Ligue 1 season. His decision to join RC Lens saw Sunderland begin talks with Le Bris, who is now on Wearside and met supporters at the new club store on Friday ahead of him officially starting work on Monday.
