Statements by Pellegrini
 
“The most important thing regarding the League is that we’re in European positions.  We need to regain our usual rhythm of play and return to winning ways as soon as possible, and we’ll hopefully come home from Pamplona with a victory.”
 
“I think Osasuna have always been a difficult team, and playing at the Reyno de Navarra certainly won’t be easy.  There’ll put a lot of pressure on us throughout the match, as they always take advantage of home games and playing in front of their fans.  Despite the setbacks they’ve had, I think Osasuna will be just as tough a team as we were up against last week.”

“I value all the Spanish teams more or less the same, except for two that are always at the top of the League, but the others can win or lose against any rival.  The League is fairly balanced for me at the moment, and a team really has to work hard and perform well in order to make a difference, even more so in Europe.  I’m not just focusing on this season, I’ve always thought the same to be honest.  I’m certain that we’ll be facing a team that will perform well at their home ground, and perfectly capable of keeping the three points at home.”

“Teams that tend to play a lot more matches can also start to under-perform at times.  This is mainly due to the tight schedule, with not enough time to recover inbetween games.  I don’t think the team is tired at all, I just think we need to be more prepared both mentally and physically for both competitions.  We’ve lost important points in home matches, but only the last two, up until then we were on a roll.  There are reasons perhaps for this poor run of results, though I personally don’t like to look for excuses as a coach.  The pitch has been in poor condition recently, we’ve been involved in a lot of matches and been up against other teams who are more used to the level of competition, and we’ve not been playing our best football.  It’s a combination of factors, not all focused on fatigue.”