Pepe Mel expressed his satisfaction in the Juan Cortés press room after the match against Ponferradina: “The team has been suffering, struggling a lot. The draw in Zaragoza felt good, as does today’s win. Only a win would do, not by any means, but the important thing was to win,” he affirmed.

Attitude is non-negotiable, and this is something the team hasn’t been lacking. “We’ve achieved everything by suffering and fighting. You can never give up. We’re going to have to fight until the last game. We’ve achieved a victory that brings us closer to our objective. Right now, the dressing room is like a disco,” he added.

Luck hasn’t been on the side of the Blue and Whites. Yet on this occasion, at last, good fortune went the Malaguista way: “Up until now, good luck always fell to the other side. A goal annulled by VAR, an important player sustaining injury, we missed a penalty, but the goal was scored by Ponferradina. Now we need to relax a bit and do things right from here on in,” he explained.

This victory is crucial, but not definitive. The coach went on to say: “There is no celebration. The footballers have to celebrate today because it’s a relief to win at home, against a direct rival and we are three points away from them. We haven’t achieved anything, but we’ve taken a step forward. Málaga cannot be in the relegation zone. The day we achieve that, we’ll celebrate.”

The review of the last two games is very positive, which gives impetus for the coming seasons: “The important thing is that we have scored four out of six points against two direct rivals. Today we kept a clean sheet, and also the other day with 10 minutes to go. We’re full of energy, determined to win against Levante,” he concluded.