Pepe Mel: “Hopefully this is a turning point”
The Malaguista coach held a press conference following the match at La Rosaleda against CD Lugo. “The lads need to relax and move forward and not think about tough times. Keep their heads held high and look to the future with optimism,” he affirmed.
The Malaguista coach responded to the questions from the media present at La Rosaleda’s Juan Cortés press room. Pepe Mel commented that he’s “angry” as he “would have liked to have maintained a clean sheet” having played “a match worthy of it. In the 91st minute we were 3-0 up. The nerves set in then as we could have lost what we’d won. The result was fair. It has to serve for the team to grow. We played against a team that with one great ball generates a goal opportunity. We held on well until minute 91, I’m a bit angry we didn’t get the 3-0 win, but it’s a learning curve. There’s no time to relax, we must keep going until the ref blows the whistle,” said the coach.
In recent games, as the coach highlighted, Málaga haven’t been able to control the details: “Details count, and they’ve been harming us in previous matches. We managed to secure a favourable lead.” In addition, Pepe believes that they can positively influence the group. “The lads need to relax and move forward and not think about tough times. Keep their heads held high and look to the future with optimism. This changes with a result. The team is still in the relegation zone, so there’s a lot of work to do,” he stated.
In regard to the young scorers, the Blue and White coach commented that “it doesn't matter whether they’re 41 or 15” and that it is “important that they help. We had our eye on Cristian and we put him on the other day. In the face of Gallar's adversity, he was important in the game, he had attitude, as did Dani Lorenzo. They're going to have a chance to get in if they do well, and for me they’re very important,” he went on to say.
Once again, the fans accompanied and supported the team. Pepe was thrilled and hopes that “it will be a turning point. I am very happy for the fans, they deserved to go home happy. The players were in debt. We play for Málaga, which is their fans. We’re happy for them. People demand things from us and we’re going to work hard to get the team where it should be. Today's match has to be an important one,” he said.
Lastly, ahead of a long week of work, in which Málaga will visit Oviedo next Monday, Pepe is clear about how the players will affront this week: “With a smile and an eagerness to train. This week will be different. We’ve made mistakes, but with three points in the pot, everything gets a little easier,” he concluded.
