Statements from Mathijsen

Long week
“It’s a long week, as our next match is on Monday, but sometimes it’s good to have the time to rectify any mistakes we’ve made, or change anything since our last defeat.  We’ve got three matches in one week coming up.  Before the Betis match, we were playing well, at a high level, with clear chances at goal.  We need to keep working like that to ensure we convert the chances to score into goals.  Racing will give it their all, which will be a difficult match for us, much more than the start of the season”.

Injuries
“It’s normal in football, we need to be prepared for when a player is out through injury.  We’ve got 24 players in the team, now Martín – Demichelis – has taken Toulalan’s place, so the team needs to make slight changes and be able to adapt when things like this happen.  We all hope Toulalan makes a speedy recovery and is back to work soon.  It’s a little strange playing with two left wingers in defence, but it’s working well and the combination of Martín and Weligton is great”.

Eurocopa
“Of course we know that the Eurocopa isn’t far away, but first we need to concentrate on ending the season with the Club.  We need to play well, with hopefully no further injuries, and then we’ll think about the Eurocopa”.

Style of work
“At the beginning of the season, nobody imagined we’d be in this position.  Even when we’ve lost matches, we’ve always worked in the same way, so we need to maintain this level of play and keep working hard”.

Excited fans
“It’s a new, strange feeling for the fans, as they’ve always been there for us, from when the team was in the Second Division, or when we had problems, and now that we’re in Champions positions.  We really appreciate their support in La Rosaleda, and we know how special a time this is for them”.