The Asturian coach says that the team will approach the match against Zamora with “maximum respect”
Villarreal CF head coach Marcelino García Toral is looking forward to his first game in charge of the team. His opponent will be Zamora in the Copa del Rey (Wednesday, 9pm CET). “We are playing against a rival who are now second in their league group. They have only lost two games and it’s difficult to score goals against them. They have kept ten clean sheets. They are an efficient and competitive team. In the Copa del Rey they eliminated Racing Santander and we must have the utmost respect for them. We must correct the number of goals conceded and try to keep a clean sheet,” he said.
For Marcelino, the numerous absentees should not be used as an excuse to get through the Copa del Rey round: “We have a lot of absentees, but that’s no excuse. With the players we have, we’re going to face the game with the utmost respect and at the same time with the responsibility of winning. We will try to work to achieve victory, regardless of the opponent and the competition”.
One of the players who won’t be able to play in Zamora will be Yeremy Pino. Marcelino wanted to send him a message of encouragement: “His injury is a shame. Firstly for the player himself. He knows he has a long recovery period. He’s a young lad, but it’s a very important loss for us. First and foremost is the person and what we want is for him to make a full recovery. He has our support. I wish him patience and we will help him to work hard. I’m sure he will be very important for Villarreal again. We will try to cover his absence with the players we have at the moment. We have players who can adapt to that position. We’re going to need all the players because we have a lot of games in a few days”.
The Asturian manager emphasised his excitement at his return: “I’m very motivated to be Villarreal’s head coach again. I have the feeling that I’ve returned home. I have received exquisite treatment and I am very grateful for that. These days have been idyllic for me. Now that the competition is starting it will be more difficult. The dynamic of the team is not what we wanted, but we are optimistic. The reality is what it is, but we have optimism and ambition to be a competitive team. Hopefully we’ll be able to win this first game”.
For Marcelino, the key will be efficiency in the penalty area: “We have to try to improve our percentage of arrivals and efficiency in the opponent’s area and above all improve defensively. If we keep a clean sheet, we have a better chance of winning games. Our opponents are going to play a low risk game and a low block. The cup is a very attractive competition and even more so with the new format. The only objective is to win tomorrow. If we don’t, we can’t think about the future. We always have to think about the immediate. It’s time to work to win by talking about what’s right.”
Finally, the coach emphasised that he will field a very competitive team in order to beat Zamora: “The absentees mean that we’ll have to rotate less. We’ve had ten days without competing. We’ll field the players we think we can field. We respect Zamora and what we want is to win. It’s normal for most of the first team players to take part”.
