Pepe Mel, Málaga CF coach, appeared in the ‘Juan Cortés’ press room for his first pre-match press conference, before Saturday’s clash with Villarreal B at 18:30 at La Rosaleda.
“I’ll try to get the best out of each one, 100 per cent.” These were his first words. “We have to go into the game knowing that, if we do things right, we’ll have options,” he added.
Pepe Mel analyses the rival, Villareal B: “The players have the chance to debut with a first team in European competition and fighting for titles, they always have that extra motivation. They have very solid players in all positions. With a 1-4-4-2 formation they can play on the counter and generate superiority when Lozano goes on the inside. We’ve trained well and hopefully things will go our way.”
The Blue and White coach, who has been to La Rosaleda on countless occasions as a rival coach, praises the atmosphere at the stadium. “The fans are so passionate, and they truly get behind the team no matter what. I saw it during last season’s match when I was with Las Palmas. The fans continued to cheer on the team until they won. When you leave here, you always remember the atmosphere. The city lives and breathes football, as does the Club.”
This is something he was able to verify during his first training session heading up the team, which was open to the fans: “The sooner you get used to the fans’ warmth, the better. This is a game, sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t. But the fans are always there,” he said.
“The objectives are achieved by the team. There’s time for everyone to do their bit and help,” he said about each and every player.
When asked whether a draw tomorrow would be a good result, he said that “it’s never a good result when preparing for a match. Today we have a point, but we’re going out there to win three, as we need to start accumulating points as soon as possible,” he confirmed.
“The best medicine is to win and the first chance to do that is tomorrow. I’ve marked out a roadmap for the players, I hope I’ve convinced them, so let’s see if it goes well.”
Pepe Mel ended his press conference hopeful of a good performance in tomorrow’s game. “I hope the Málaga players excel tomorrow, and we get a positive result.”
