Nancy defender Salif Sane has backed his side to rediscover their best form and finish the Ligue 1 season on a high - starting against bottom side Sochaux.

A run of four wins on the bounce in March and April appears to have been sufficient to save Nancy from the drop, with the club now eight points clear of trouble with just three games remaining.

However, a run of four defeats on the trot has followed on the heels of that good run of form, and Sane concedes it is important to overcome end-of-season sluggishness and wrap up the campaign in style.

"If we have been less than successful in recent games, it is largely due to fatigue," Sane said on club website asnl.net.

"Having ensured that we would stay up it also perhaps unconsciously led us to relax a little bit.

"But I am confident that we will recover."

Nancy's chances of victory tomorrow have been given an undoubted boost due to the sheer number of players unavailable to Sochaux coach Eric Hely.

The league's bottom side, who are however just a point from safety in the congested league standings,

will perhaps be able to point to a lack of discipline rather than poor form as the reason for their relegation should they fail to arrest their slide before the end of the season.

Four players dismissed in their last two games has left Hely with a major headache.

Forward Modibo Maiga has been hit with a three-game ban for his dismissal against Bordeaux, while defenders David Sauget and Yassin Mikari, dismissed against Ajaccio in midweek,

serve automatic one-match bans ahead of a hearing on Thursday that could bring further punishment.

Playmaker Marvin Martin is also banned after collecting three yellow cards in fewer than 10 games, and Sane believes the absences could prove costly for the hosts.

"They are playing for their survival and will inevitably have more desire than us," he said.

"But this is also a team weakened by the absence of their best players and several defenders.

"We will just play our game, and not rush."