Pepe Mel discusses the upcoming duel with Real Oviedo on Monday at the Carlos Tartiere. The rival is debuting a new coach, who Mel knows well. “Álvaro and I know each other well. This is an important game, we’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and are starting to get out of it. Oviedo could be a good place for that to happen. He has acted in a very specific way. Coaches tend to adapt. Oviedo, under Cuco Ziganda, was a very strong team. They followed a similar line with Bolo, and Álvaro bases everything on a strong defence. It's a game similar to Leganés, every mistake will punish us. We have worked on it all week,” he stated.

Ramón has been a standout name this week. This is how the coach assesses his great performance recently: “I’ve told him, and I’ve also said it publicly several times, I’m delighted with Ramón, he is at a very good level, and I think he’ll help us a lot. The other day he did great. Against Villarreal 'B' he did very well and last week against Lugo he had a very complicated role and he performed well. Now it’s a different scenario, rival, and circumstances. Those called-up also contribute, which gives us guarantees and reliability,” he added.

The commitment to the youth ranks is one of the foundations of Mel's philosophy: “The important thing is that the boys stay with us. It's a shame about Moussa. Cristian had been with me for two weeks, he understood the automatisms and in his debut at La Rosaleda he was really good. Being committed to the homegrown players revitalises the club,” he said.

Following a two-week trial, Lumor finally joins the Malaguista squad. “Lumor has just landed with us, and we want him to take on the role of left-back. If he has to do it a few metres ahead, he can. The problem we’d have would be on the right, so we’ll have to see,” said coach.

This has been a very productive week of training: “We have remained calm during this long week. We can’t wait for the match on Monday and endorsing the steps forward we’re making,” he commented.