Everyone behind Haitam
“It’s time to help Haitam on a personal level. We need to give him all the support as this is the worst thing that can happen to a footballer. A young player facing this setback is extremely tough. There are examples like Canales who broke his cruciate three times and was an international. He has a long journey ahead of him and we have to give him our support. It's a stab in the heart for us, because of what he was bringing to the team, how we were managing him, and he was showing what he can do. Starting in January he was going to be a differential player. Now the most important thing is to be with him and help him. We have to look for solutions; with the absences other players have to step forward. Now we have to be more of a team and tomorrow get a win to dedicate to him and the fans. These are difficult times and we have to help.”
A team and a family
“It was a very hard day for everyone, this team is a family. There is a very close-knit group, victories with friends are celebrated much better than with strangers. They are a family, it was a tough moment. We have a teammate that we must support, and the best way is to compete. A team is like a clock, when pieces are missing, they don’t work the same. We have to seek solutions.”
Alcoyano, a highly demanding rival
“We have to focus on tomorrow's game. We are going to come up against a very recognisable team that has had good a dynamic in the last four games. They are a very intense team in terms of pressure, one of those that recovers well, suffocates rivals and plays in a practical way. The team differences are equalised by our situation. We have to be more focused, go to the limit. We need a complete game in all phases of the game, and to be consistent. It's going to be very difficult, we have to detect where the spaces are and know what it is costing us in the final third. We need to be creative.”
We need players for a very important month
“We have Einar, Kevin and Manu. Players are stepping up but we are also losing some. He is an important player in the squad who will give us more scope to change the context of the game. We have several players who have trained partially and will have to take part. The initial snapshot is important but also so is how we finish. It’s a very important month, we’ll be playing six games with the Cup, it’ll be tight. In the face of these adversities, we seek commitment, people appreciate the effort made by the team. We must improve the defects and strengthen our virtues. People can see the collective feeling, now we have to take the step of playing a complete game, we need the best version of ourselves.”
