RC Lens head coach Pierre Sage was thoroughly unimpressed by the performances of some of his players in Friday’s 3-3 away draw to Brest. The Bretons raced to a 3-0 lead at half-time before the Artois side mounted an unlikely come-back with former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin restoring parity deep in injury time.

Lens failed to maintain pressure on Ligue 1 leaders Paris SG, who are in the driving seat for the title race with a 3-point lead and a game to spare. Sage took his share of responsabilities given he decided to rotate his side after Tuesday’s 4-1 win against Toulouse in the Coupe de France semi-finals, but he directed his ire to the bench players that were not up to the task.

“Since I’m the one responsible for all of this, the result falls on me”, Sage said. “I hope the players who played in the first half will be able to tell you the same thing.” With his side trailing by three goals, Sage said he used “very harsh words” at half-time, and that he felt “betrayed” by some of the players he had trusted to start.

“I gave them playing time, I wanted to bring some fresh legs. I have to admit that I didn’t get what I expected in return.” Sage hinted that the players that disappointed him the most are those he hooked early in the second half: Arthur Masuaku, Wesley Saïd, Ruben Aguilar and Florian Sotoca.

Sage added that he didn’t recall hooking four players at once in his career. “Or maybe in the U11s, but that was about giving. Here, it was about punishing.“