The team stayed in the game, despite being 1-0 down
“I’m going to start by talking about the good, congratulate my players and thank them for all their effort in the face of so much rumour and bad news for us. A team that gives up easily isn’t capable of coming here, Camp Nou, against the team we faced and becoming demoralised after conceding within two minutes. We were wrong on several occasions, but our mistakes were very costly as we’ve seen in other matches. If we look at the nine games up to now, some of the goals against us could have been avoided, not just for my mistakes in approach or that of my players, but something else. It’s very difficult coming to Camp Nou and conceding a goal so early on, as it scares you being in last place, but the team stepped up”.
Work without reward
“Yes it’s a regular thing. In certain matches we’ve not performed well, and it’s tough to analyse when we’re always behind on the scoreboard. I know refereeing is very difficult, but so much? If the feeling is bad, it’s because we have only one point. It’s a bad and very real situation. We cling to the fact that we continue to compete, continue playing and who knows? Perhaps one day we’ll face a team like Barcelona and achieve more by playing at this level. We also need a little bit more luck, which wasn’t on our side tonight. I want my players to be happy and calm, which is the only thing that will help us out of this”.
Mentality
“I always say I’m never going to go into a match thinking we’ll have no options to win. That’s what I told the guys. Tonight was about being organised on the field of play, working hard and developing what we’ve been working on in training all week, which is to really get into the game. We were all that we could have been, and after the second minute we could have been out of the game, but that wasn’t the case at all. We focused on the idea we had against a rival that never gives anything away. They are an excellent side, with players who hold superb possession and great technical skill, but my team was part of every minute of play. I’m sure, in other circumstances, who knows if we could have taken the lead or had more options”?
Arbitral oversights
“I always say referring is hard, but is it so difficult? We conceded a goal against Eibar which was offside, another in Valencia that almost sealed the game, last Sunday the same thing happened; conceding goals and going behind on the scoreboard which for us, being at the bottom, is a tough pill to swallow. Out of curiosity I ask; “what would happen with this streak if it was with a team who weren’t bottom of the table”? Such situations are very clear, it’s not questionable. We’re not going to blame our position in the rankings on refereeing decisions, but sincerely speaking, we never ask them for anything, but they’re taking away a lot”.
Good moments
“We’ve had our moments. We played well at Wanda, the rebellion against Athletic was also good. I think against Eibar we have several good moments, and also against Las Palmas, but we couldn’t get going. This could be intimidating to the players, but as we’ve seen, it’s not. They carry on, never give up and never get discouraged. Ours is not a situation we can be happy about, but the players show they’ve got more, which is what gives us hope”.
Good performance by the players
“I think the two players were really very good. Adrián showed his true measure as a footballer, which is why he came to Málaga CF. I think Chory is a fighter, and you know that what he always brings to the team will help a lot. Our idea wasn’t to go deep into the wings, but to play in intermediate lines, which the boys did well. Peñaranda has joined the team as an excellent player. Little by little we’re finding things that will help us, at least me, to maintain hope. People ask if I’m concerned, but I see my players doing many things, that don’t turn out well. However, from here until LaLiga finishes, there will be opportunities for everything”.
