Lyon coach Remi Garde has insisted that his young team are giving everything to reverse a poor start to the season.
Garde's side have picked up just one victory in their last 12 matches, slipping into the bottom half of Ligue 1 after failing to qualify for the Champions League group stages.
Following last weekend's 1-1 draw with Bordeaux, the Les Gones boss has admitted that they are in a "tough" predicament, but believes that an inexperienced team needs encouragement rather than criticism.
He told Ligue 1's official website: "On the whole, I can't fault my players. We're making do with the resources we have available. The fact that we went behind was a bit undeserved, but the drawn result reflected the shape of the match.
"It's tough. We had seven youngsters in our starting XI, and they don't have much experience. We asked a lot of them and I can understand that the bar was a bit high. Still, I appreciated their efforts and I think they gave everything.
"The club is in a tough situation at the moment but we try to put that behind us when we take the field. We just need to assume our responsibilities, all of us. There's not much else to say. We need to lift our heads."
Lyon's search for a first win since September continues in the Europa League on Thursday against Rijeka, before a trip to Monaco three days later.
