Few observers would have guessed at the beginning of August that the Alouettes would still be fighting for first place in the Eastern Division of the Canadian Football League at the end of October.

And yet, Danny Maciocia’s squad will have an opportunity to steal the valuable move that will give the Toronto Argonauts direct access to the section finals. However, she has to hit them twice in seven days.

However, the managing director and acting head coach of the “Als” does not want his athletes to project themselves too much into the future.

“We talked about the big opportunity that’s in front of us without talking about first place,” said Maciocia. We have a home game on Saturday and that’s the challenge we need to focus on.”

“This opportunity didn’t exist a month and a half ago. There are many people who have asked many questions about our team,” he added.

And was the DG one of those who had questions?

“Yes, I asked myself many questions. Nobody was satisfied with the performance of our team. On the other hand, I always believed in our education. I was convinced that we could achieve our goals if everyone pulled together.”

Believe in

If Maciocia has always believed in it, the players don’t always seem to have done so. It took a special event for the members of the Alouettes to realize they had the potential to be great in 2022.

The trigger came on August 11 in a 20-17 overtime win over the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg. Before this duel, the Sparrows had a record of 2-4.

“The win in Winnipeg was a well deserved win and there was a change in mentality,” said safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy. That affected our morale because it was very low before this game. There was a change of coach and maybe some players had questions. The win against this excellent team made everyone believe in our potential.

“When the players came off the field in Winnipeg, they thought they had something unique and special,” Maciocia recalled.

“They will fight to the end,” added the DG. What I like about my team is the calm that reigns on the sidelines. That wasn’t the case a few months ago. It’s very inspiring because I realized that our athletes never stop believing in themselves.”

– The first of two duels against the “Argos” will take place this Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Percival Molson Stadium. Both teams finish their regular seasons in Queen City seven days later.