Villarreal B have a vital match in their quest for survival against Real Valladolid (Sunday, 6:30pm CEST)
Villarreal B head coach, Miguel Álvarez, appeared at the press conference ahead of the match between the Yellows and Real Valladolid at the Estadio José Zorrilla. The home side are playing for direct promotion and the Mini Submarine for survival, which is still possible, even though it looks a long way off.
Here is what he had to say:
Another tough test
“We know the difficulty of the game and the type of opponent we have, who are no longer what they competed here in the first half of the season, when we played a very good game against a great team, but in the month of December they have strengthened their squad with six top players. But this is the game we have, the most imminent one, and we’re going to face it as we always do, trying to do what we’ve been doing so far. We are going to try to compete as well as we have prepared.”
Returnees and absentees
“Today Hugo, Ortega, Alberto came in for activation, Stefan and Novoa trained partially… I think we’ve had some bad luck. In matches as important as those at the end of the championship, we’ve had some very important absentees, but above all because of the experience. In the end it’s all about experience, but it’s what it is and we have to compete with what we have and do it the way the lads are doing it.”
The opposition
“We’re expecting a game against a team that is in the running for direct promotion, at home with their fans… A game in which we’re going to have to do things very well and know how to suffer when we don’t do them so well, because with the potential they have, otherwise you’ll have a bad time. The boys know what we’re going to find and they’ve shown that playing in an uncomfortable atmosphere doesn’t bother us. We have to do well and with a lot of personality.”
Good football despite the situatoin
“We played very good football in the first half of the season, like the Espanyol game and the Eldense game. I think that after the Espanyol game, because of the situation of the first team, a lot of guys went up, and there are changes and that adds to the difficulty of the situation. In the first half of the season we managed 24 points despite the whole situation. In the second half of the season, with important players and a very young second line, we played very good football, both on and off the ball. We have been very close to winning a lot of games, but there is something wrong there: persistence, consistency, efficiency… We have a deficit there, because it’s normal. You have to pay for that process. We played very well, but we lacked efficiency in the penalty area. But I’m even more proud of the second half because of the personality that the lads have shown despite the absentees and all the circumstances.”
The difficulty of professional football
“Both myself and my fellow coaches have a very clear conscience. I’m angry with myself, because maybe I could have contributed more, but I think it’s the year we’ve worked the hardest in every way. But a team that concedes so many goals from wide play and set pieces, it’s not just about work, it’s about having people with experience, with efficiency… Last year we were the team that scored the most goals from set pieces and this year we’ve scored very few, and that penalises you. That’s not a question of work, we’ve worked very hard, so I’m happy with the work we’ve done. Which of the other B teams has been in this league for two years? It’s very difficult. The only thing I would have liked as a head coach would have been to stay in it for three years, but everyone has done their best, but in the end that’s the way it is.”
Proud of the work
“I am very aware of where I am. If it was dramatic, I would have left in January. I am a worker at the club and I work with what they give me. We have worked very hard and you have to see how much the boys have improved, and for that I am happy. I’m more motivated every day.If I wasn’t happy, I’d leave. We didn’t get through it because of something that I think we’ve been very unlucky about, which is the only thing I believe in bad luck, which is injuries.In the second half of the season, when we’ve been missing so many players, it’s more difficult.”
