Girondins Bordeaux can take over at the summit if they win at Nantes and Lyon fail to take maximum points from a tricky game at neighbouring Grenoble.
"You can't enforce a good atmosphere in a dressing room," Govou told France Football magazine.
"It's there or it's not and in our case it's not. It used to be different but players and their mentality have changed," added the French international who is out for the rest of the season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon in training on Wednesday.
Lyon's lead has been cut to one point after recording only one win in six games.
"It's true we are not playing as well as last season but I'm confident we have the quality and quantity of players to put things right before our next game at Grenoble," said Aulas.
Lyon's main challenge, however, comes from Bordeaux who hammered Paris St Germain 4-0 last weekend.
"We were competitive in every area of the game and scored four goals each by a different scorer without conceding any, which is very satisfying," said coach Laurent Blanc.
"It doesn't mean things will not change but it shows we can do it."
