Málaga Club de Fútbol coach, Javi Gracia held a press conference following this morning’s training session at the Ciudad de Málaga athletics stadium, ahead of tomorrow’s match against Sociedad Deportiva Eibar at the Ipurúa stadium.
Firstly, Gracia discusses the line-up which includes Flávio for the first time this season: “If there is a chance for him to get on the pitch and play, then I’ll be pleased. All being well, everyone is capable of playing tomorrow.”
The Navarran-born manager hopes to return to winning ways in away games against a tough rival at their home ground: “I’m not focusing on their recent results, but on their potential, which we saw in the first round. We must improve on our performance away from home, which is our challenge, in order to move higher up the table and defend our 7th place. However tomorrow’s game will be highly competitive as Eibar always focus on a hard-fought and very tight style of play. We are preparing for a difficult, equal match. We’ll struggle in the same way others have at this ground, so we must maintain concentration for 90 minutes.”
Following Saturday night’s match against Real, Javi Gracia remains positive: “I’m still feeling optimistic. Although I felt we should have increased our advantage, but it wasn’t to be. However we’ll see how we respond to more difficult matches.”
Lastly, the ‘Malaguista’ coach praises the work of the ‘Juvenil’ boys in recent weeks: “The team has been performing very well. They are the present and future, so we must nurture our boys to the max as both players and coaches have every reason to be proud of them.”