Recovery
“In principle, when you only have two days to recover, it’s difficult to prepare a game taking place within 48 hours. You need to recover all the players and go on what you’ve worked on previously”.
Luis Hernández
“Luis has a pretty significant wound. He has had more internal stitches than external. It doesn’t look too bad, but we’ll need to see how he is in regard to playing tomorrow. If he plays, he’ll undoubtedly re-open the wound. If it was up to him he would play, but we’ll have to review the situation”.
Valencia CF
“I think Valencia are now at the height of their history. They made things difficult for Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, but they also made things tough for Valencia. On Saturday Levante got a draw, which is proof that LaLiga is extremely tight. There is very little difference in the results. Valencia are a team who have won a match by 1-0 and drawn the other three. The differences between us and Valencia are there, but we are hopeful it’ll be a close game. We’ve just competed against Atlético de Madrid, and in quotes, they only beat us by 1-0. I think we deserved something more. Valencia have recovered their identity, with a coach who has great character to get the team going and set the right atmosphere, which he’s done very well”.
Way forward
“When you have no points, everything becomes more of a struggle. I said the same the other day after the match. I’m certain that with the game we played at the weekend, in other circumstances we would have claimed points. These things happen, but it’s important that the players don’t get down about it. If a team was demoralised, demotivated or nervous, they wouldn’t have played in the same way we played, with the work we’ve been doing. We’ll follow this path. I don’t see the lads thinking beyond our next match, and the reality of the situation. We need to start earning points”.
Positive
“I think if our approach, with certain variants, will be similar to the Metropolitano the other day, then we’ll clinch a good result. I’m going to say something I wouldn’t normally, as I always say to focus on the upcoming match. Whatever happens in Valencia and the next games, which I understand will be good, this team will not have any difficulties. That’s not just a whim. I sincerely think so”.
