"I am not worried. I am very, very worried, Rennes coach Frederic Antonetti told reporters following a humiliating French Cup exit to Ligue 2 outfit Stade Reims on Tuesday.
Three days earlier, the Breton side were thrashed 5-1 by mid-table Sochaux, a defeat compounded by having goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez sent off and injuries suffered by midfielder Stephane Dalmat and defender Kader Mangane. Rennes have 34 points, seven behind leaders Lille, but Antonetti said squad changes were needed.
"For the club, (the Cup exit) may be a blessing in disguise. There are important decisions to be made. Some players simply do not have the level to play for Rennes," Antonetti said without revealing names.
"We have to be more humble, and that means we must stop thinking we are something we are not. We are not Marseille, Lille, Lyon, Paris or Bordeaux... I keep saying it," he added.
"I was told we needed to finish in the top four, well I say no! We don't yet have the team to go where we want to go."
"Some of the players may have played their last game", he told Eurosport on Wednesday.
Third-placed Olympique Lyon look to bounce back from last weekend's defeat by Valenciennes, their first in the league for four months, when they host Girondins Bordeaux on Sunday.
"Since the beginning of the year, Lyon is doing yoyo between very good, average and very average performances," defender Pape Diakhate told a news conference on Wednesday. "We need to be in a better state of mind. In every single match we play we need to stay focused."
Elsewhere, Lille travel to AJ Auxerre on Sunday while champions and fifth-placed Olympique Marseille host basement club Arles Avignon who have won only one league match since the beginning of the season.
