Firstly, Schuster is pleased with Flávio’s inclusion in this line-up: “Flávio is in tomorrow’s line-up, but it’s not to say he’ll get to play. He’s been performing very well in training and I wanted to reward all his hard work. Now’s the time for him to join the team, little by little.”
The ‘Malaguista’ coach is aware of the importance of tomorrow’s game: “It’s not a special match; from my time with Getafe, only Alexis and Gavilán are there now. We had a fantastic time. However tomorrow’s three points are crucial for us, so we need to put everything else to one side.”
The German-born coach states that the team needs to keep their composure in order to defeat tomorrow’s rival: “We notice mistakes that every team makes, including ourselves, but tomorrow we just need to focus on our performance. The worst danger for Málaga is Málaga. We’re capable of dominating and controlling rivals like Villarreal, Athletic and Osasuna, but we lose control too easily which is costing us dearly. A lack of concentration is making all our hard work in training go to waste. It’s important that we focus on knowing how to react to situations better and much more quickly. Every team has got quality players, Getafe included, who can do a lot of damage to a rival. We need to maintain our focus for 90 minutes and remain alert during the tough moments of each game. It’s crucial we put all our hard work during the week to good use.”
Bernd Schuster views the arrival of sporting director, Mario Husillos as very positive: “He knows everyone and the majority of the team so well. He’s going to be a great help working with us, and we’re very much looking forward to it.”
With regards to the fans, the ‘Malaguista’ coach has faith in their support: “We’re confident that things will turn out alright. We need to have patience with the team, and we really need the support of all our fans. Every player in the team is very professional, and our recent run of results shouldn’t make them nervous. It’s important that we realise what we’re capable of. If the supporters react badly to the coach, it shouldn’t make any of the players anxious. We need to win the fans round and show them we mean business.”
Finally, Schuster analyses El Hamdaoui’s fitness level: “Since the match against Espanyol he complained of pain in his knee, and we’ve not been able to get him back to full fitness. He’s gained quite a bit of weight with this injury, and we don’t know when he’ll return to the line-up.”
