Expectations surrounding Les Girondins were low in summer, despite Francis Gillot's men finishing last season strongly to seal 5th spot. To his sorrow Gillot has been given no money at all to spend on new players. "We've known for some time that the club has no money to sign new players," Gillot explained. "We have 26 players under contract and I think that's easily enough. We're going to stand by the 26 guys we've got, because I think we have some quality. Hopefully, we'll have a lot of competitions to play in: we have the Europa League in our focus. I think we're capable of doing well with this squad in all the competitions." Obraniak impact While Bordeaux's hands were tied this summer, they did strengthen back in January 2012 with the signings of Mariano and Ludovic Obraniak. The latter has been in superb form, scoring a stunning goal at Evian and grabbing the winner against Rennes, and he's taking philosophical view of Bordeaux's quiet summer. "You have to take the economic situation in to account. It's logical that there haven't been many new arrivals," reasoned the Poland international, who has rediscovered his scoring from in the early stages of season 2012-13. "It's good that there haven't been many departures either, which allows us to keep the same group that finished last season. The backbone is the same. That's been an advantage for us this season." Plasil pledge Last season's top scorer Yoan Gouffran and the skipper Jaroslav Plasil were among those linked with moves, but Czech midfielder Plasil insists there was never any question of him jumping ship. "I've said, I have three years left on my contract. There you go," declared the former Monaco and Osasuna midfielder. "I'm here and I want to give everything to the club, for the fans, and that's all that matters." Bordeaux were champions when Plasil joined in 2009, but standards have slipped in the last three years. They finished last season with six wins on the spin, though, and Plasil is setting his sights even higher this term. "I think I can speak for all of the players when I say that we want to do better than last season," he said. "It will be a lot harder, but you know we've all been together for more than a year now, so maybe this could be our season." Onward and upward Gillot is also set on building on last season's achievements: "A successful season means doing at least as well as last season in the league. Of course we want to qualify for the Europa League again. Then, if we could grab a victory in one of the domestic cups, that'd be a super season."