Lorient boss Christian Gourcuff has insisted that Sunday's tie against Rennes "is very important" in the context of their season.

Lorient sit 14th in Ligue 1 after a poor run of form, and have not won a league match since beating Nice in November.

"It's obvious that Sunday's game is very important, not just because it's a derby but also due to the situation in which we find ourselves in need of points," Gourcuff told reporters.

"I hope the fans will turn out in force on Sunday and will get behind us as we need their support to push the players towards what we hope will be a win."

Gourcuff has been in charge at Lorient since 2003.