Miguel Álvarez’s side are preparing for their first match of the season against UD Ibiza, with the coach aiming for a strong campaign for his side (Saturday 7pm CEST)

Villarreal B coach Miguel Álvarez has appeared before the media ahead of his side’s first match of the season in Primera RFEF, against UD Ibiza at the Estadio Municipal de Can Misses.

This is what he had to say:

A new generation

“We are welcoming in a new generation of footballers. The players who had been here and achieved wonderful things have gone, and so we are now working with the new guys. We are trying to instill new concepts in them and what we want at Villarreal B, with all the difficulties that can come up in pre-seasons with players who have been working with the first team. We are very excited again this year to help these young players achieve their dreams and, as a club, once again build a strong squad and team that can compete as Villarreal teams usually do, which is at a high level.”

Primera RFEF

“It is one division lower, but I would also say that it is very similar to being in Segunda División because there are so many teams and many B teams. We have to go out to compete in this league and we have to respect it, but we are going to come across many teams with the clear objective of getting promoted. Every year we try to build from what we believe at Villarreal. We have very young players, and we are going to see if we are able to do what we have done year after year, which is making them feel this sense of belonging to the club and to Villarreal B. That is the culture of hard work and effort.”

Growth as the objective

“The first intention in Villarreal B is to help the team, whilst the second is player development and if we do things well, with that culture of work and effort, the objective will come naturally. The objective is to once again build that we are satisfied with in a few years’ time, meaning that players go up to the first team and we achieve good results. This may be the most difficult year, because the players are still young and many players have come in, but I’m optimistic. The objective will come through the quality of our work.”

The opponent: UD Ibiza

“Ibiza have a very good squad, with a lot of the same people as last year and very experienced players. And the reality is that we will find this with almost all the teams. I believe that Ibiza have brilliant potential at an individual level. Now they have a new coach, who has to build the team, but when you build with people who have that much experience, it’s easier. In the pre-season matches that we have watched of theirs, we have seen changes in their playing system in comparison to last season. But every team changes from pre-season to the actual season. For us, with all the humility and respect in the world, we have to grow from an individual level. If we grow from an individual perspective, helping to improve the players, it will be more straightforward to grow as a collective. In general, it will be tough, but I am sure that we will have a good year”.