Pellicer: “The feelings are good, but we have to keep improving and moving forward”
The Málaga CF coach spoke after beating Real Betis in the XXXV Costa del Sol Cup. “We hope it will be a great year and that we can continue with this enthusiasm, but with our feet on the ground,” he said.
The coach’s analysis
“We struggled to get past the first line of pressure, and when we did, we created danger. We operated within different structures, adapted to a higher-level team, and kept adjusting. We had a big scare at the start, sending our best wishes to the family and hoping for a speedy recovery. Larrubia’s goal came early. In the second half, we were very aggressive in our pressing and took a step forward compared to last year. The most important thing is that the team competed well, none of our players suffered any discomfort, and they’re ready for Monday, when the real work begins.”
Good feelings and caution
“You leave with good feelings and great football at times. You have to know how to interpret these matches, if the opposite had happened, like in Oxford, we’d have to stay calm. Now, with the development of the players, also stay calm. The most important thing is that the players are developing and there is strong competitiveness. Saturday will be a completely different match context, the feelings are good, but with caution and many things to improve on.”
Hard work and improvement
“There’s still a long way to go, we have to keep improving, moving forward, and maintain the level of demand that our people expect from us. Our fans, even in a preseason match, have been outstanding, and we have to be strong at La Rosaleda. Right now, we’re not the Málaga of the legends who came today, we’re low cost, full of enthusiasm, with young local players we identify with. Betis had two chances where normally it would have been the other way around. We have matured through the match, felt comfortable, and created these situations. Pellegrini is a legend, and this year he’ll be competing with the big names in the First Division.”
Hope is a big plus
“Hope is the biggest motivation of all. Our people are always with us, always giving us an extra push. We need to do better than last year; we’re not promotion favourites. First, we have to earn those points, then improve on last year, and work on the small details that can tip things one way or another. If we bring the same spirit we have at home with our fans to away matches, we’ll get better.”