C.D. Leganés manager, Asier Garitano, appeared in a press conference this Friday to discuss the upcoming fixture this Sunday at 16:00 (CEST) against Real Valladolid in the Estadio Municipal Butarque, which will total the 10th league game so far.
The coach spoke on the squad's mood after the defeat last weekend: "After losing you're fed up, it was important to get some points to stay along the groove we found, now even more so given how the defeat went. But I'm calm and reassured because I see a team that's improving, we had got 7 points in three game beforehand and that's the kind of form we aim to maintain. I know what has historically worked at this club, we'll keep on remaining calm and trying to develop the squad. We need to have more accuracy in front of goal certainly, we have generated situations with a lot of attacking threat through players like José Arnaiz the other day, but that's where its costing us".
"Valladolid are doing well and are close to the top teams"
When questioned on Sunday's opponent, Asier mentioned that "Valladolid have kept 90% of their players who were in Primera División, sometimes it can cost you to adapt to a new league, but they're coping well. They want to do better, but they are close to the top teams".
On the subject of squad absences for Sunday, Garitano went on to confirm that "Omeruo and Gaku are back and fit enough for Sunday. Bárcenas won't be back until tomorrow, he played three games himself and is also arriving from Canada and we will have to see if he's up to it physically and mentally. Other players unavailable for Sunday include Bustinza, Bautista, Quintillà, Avilés and Luis Pera".
"Every point is important because each takes so much to win and turns you into a more competitive side"
Regarding the state of the team, the coach explained that "you have to face reality and live with it. We were punished heavily in the first five games, where we only managed a couple of draws. In the sixth week we placed last, and when you have a poor start result wise then it takes a lot out of you, in whichever division and even more so in this one, where the playing field is very level. We need to keep that stride we broke into after that and be better, but we aren't miles away from the top teams".
Returning to the present, Asier believes that "the first few matches were a lot more cheerful, now each game has to be valued and carries great importance. We need to remind ourselves of the importance of every point, because each takes so much to win and turns you into a more competitive side. If you cannot win it in the 89', focus on not losing the defensive battles. We're aware of what went wrong, and its not the first time. This is a mentality that we all must change," he concluded.
