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It was not cautious optimism Luc Brodeur-Jourdain expressed in those heady days last May, before the Alouettes reported to training camp.

The veteran centre was convinced, with the combination of head coach and offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine, along with the arrival of veteran quarterback Darian Durant, the team finally was on the right path.

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But somewhere along the way the Als took a wrong turn, and with the team on a four-game losing skid and 3-8 overall, Chapdelaine and defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe were fired on Wednesday.

“I thought we finally had a good offensive coordinator and a coach that had knowledge. And the combination of an experienced quarterback. That didn’t work. Now we have to move on as a team,” Brodeur-Jourdain said after Thursday’s practice, the second under interim head coach Kavis Reed, Montreal’s general manager.

“It has been disappointing to me. I don’t feel we, as players, did the most we could. A bunch of mistakes were made by players that we actually practised. Those mistakes started affecting the rate of return … mental mistakes,” he continued. “The coach doesn’t have any power over that. He’s calling the plays and is expecting us to make them. That didn’t happen. Lots of responsibility belongs on the players’ side.”