New pitch

“The improvement to the pitch is much appreciated, it was essential in order to better the team’s gameplay.  The Club made an effort to meet our requests, which were necessary, so let’s hope we now see a much better, more fluid game of football.”

Koné out, Weligton in

“Koné played with his national team, he also had a long journey and was very tired when he came back.  He began to complain of muscular problems so we decided to rest him so as not to force what could turn out to be a long term injury, meaning we’d lose him for some time (…) Weligton has just recovered from injury, he’s in the line-up, so we’re hoping to see him at his best, as always.  He has a great deal of experience, he knows the First Division, and if he plays, he’ll do so using this experience and level of play.”

Villarreal, good team

“We’ve studied the rival well to know how we can make things difficult for them.  They are a magnificent team who have been fighting for the Champions in the pre-season, and put on a magnificent performance last year.  We need to work hard and do well to defeat them, and that’s what we’re hoping to do.  Implementing the system of play we’ve created is the best way to achieve our objective.”

Good League break

“Having more time to train is always good.  Generally speaking, I think we’ve done well, particularly after the result we achieved in Barcelona, turning a complicated, difficult score around.  The team is now back to normal, aware that if we do well, we are capable of defeating any rival.”