Frank Haise is doing something very special by maximising talent at Lens

Franck Haise welled up. The Lens manager was being interviewed on the touchline after his team had won a game last season when Thierry Henry, who was working as a TV pundit, broke into a glowing review of Haise’s “contagious and impressive” team. Haise, who had been completely unknown to most fans just two years earlier, struggled to contain his happiness when hearing a French football legend enthuse about his dynamic side. He is doing something special at Lens. When Haise took over two years ago, they were in Ligue 2. Now his players are breathing rarefied air at the top of Ligue 1. And this is his first senior management role.

Four games into the season, Lens sit alongside PSG and Marseille at the top of the table with 10 points each. Lens thrashed Monaco 4-1 last weekend before easing past the usually free-flowing Rennes – who finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season – on Saturday. Even though Lens have done brilliantly and finished seventh in their last two seasons, their form this season is still something of a surprise.

Many observers of French football thought they had peaked already, especially given that France’s major clubs (those not relegated, anyway) all strengthened over the summer. Lille and Lyon, who finished below Lens last season, should end the transfer window as Champions League hopefuls. Monaco, Marseille and PSG have all improved their squads this summer. And Nice are likely to do the same this week before the window closes.

Lens, however, have lost three of their four best players this summer. Their top scorer last season, the 20-year-old striker Aranud Kalimuendo, returned to PSG after a two-year loan and then signed for Rennes; midfield pace-setter Cheick Doucouré earned a move to Crystal Palace;