Pellegrini
“It’s been a difficult few days unfortunately, but everything is back to normal now and we’re back here. My mother is much better, thank you, she’s still in hospital but she’s a lot better. Thanks for your concern. I caught a flight yesterday and landed today in Madrid, and just managed to catch the train to Málaga in time for training. I’m very tired, but I’ll be fine soon.”
“We’ve got such a busy schedule in January. Tomorrow I hope we can return to the League with the same intensity and performance as we did at the end of last year, and we get through to the next stage of the Copa del Rey. We’ve got some very important matches this month, so I think the Christmas holidays were a welcome rest for the players who’ve been taking part in three competitions.”
“I’ve got a lot of faith in the reserve team. Fabrice is a young player, just starting out, and who has been in many training sessions with the first team. He’s still learning, but I have a lot of confidence in his capability as a player.”
“Well tradition states that when there are changes to a team, it brings with it a surge of motivation, which is sometimes reflected on the pitch, but not always. Deportivo are in a bit of a difficult situation, but we can be sure that they’ll be giving it 100 per cent tomorrow to ensure they earn three very much-needed points. We’ll have to be at the top of our game if we want to secure a win.”
“Domingos Paciencia had a few good seasons in Portugal, but he’s not had long enough to really put his stamp on Deportivo. I think it’s more likely that we’ll face a very motivated rival, determined to keep the three points at home, rather than focusing on a specific style of play.”
“I remember we had an open training session last season. I think it’s a positive thing, though an open session in front of fans is always different to our normal sessions. However to see the level of support for the team, to see children excited to see their favourite players, was a really wonderful experience. It was a really great day for everyone.”
“The holidays weren’t too long, we had a few extra days, as did Barça who returned to work on the same day as us. We’re hoping to kick off 2013 in the same way as we ended 2012.”