BULA FC coach Stéphane Auvray is never short on words and rarely short on conviction.
Even as Bula FC struggles in the OFC Professional League including a recent 2–0 loss to Solomons Kings, a side they had edged 1–0 in Port Moresby, Auvray remains publicly unfazed.
His stance is clear: results are secondary right now.
With all teams assured a playoff berth, he argues that finishing position is not the ultimate measure of success.
It’s a bold message but also one that invites scrutiny.
Because while playoffs may be guaranteed, momentum is not.
Confidence is not.
And both are earned long before knockout football begins.
Auvray speaks of long-term vision, of rotating players to build depth for future seasons.
Development over desperation.
Structure and process over panic.
On paper, it sounds progressive, even admirable.
But football is played in the present tense.
Teams do not stumble into form when the stakes suddenly rise.
They build it, match by match.
Structured football without a cutting edge quickly becomes sterile possession.
Fundamentals without conviction rarely translate into victories.
Then comes the familiar refrain: missed chances, poor finishing, moments that should have been converted.
In many ways, Auvray is right. Football often turns on fine margins.
But finishing is not separate from form, it is part of it.
Confidence in front of goal grows from belief, cohesion and repetition under pressure.
His calmness may be a shield, protecting young players, easing tension, buying time.
Or it may reflect genuine faith in a longer blueprint.
The question hovering over Bula FC is not whether playoffs are secured.
It is whether the foundation being laid now is strong enough to withstand the intensity that knockout football demands.
Vision is valuable.
But in football, credibility still starts with results.
Right now, Bula FC appears less result-oriented and more experimental with near wholesale changes from game to game suggesting winning is not yet the immediate priority.
Long-term development is.
Whether that patience proves wise or costly will only be answered when the margins matter most.
