Mehdi Nafti: "The dream's over, but I'm very proud of my players. We kept faith till the end"

C.D. Leganés manager, Mehdi Nafti, appeared in a press conference following the pepineros' defeat to Real Sociedad in the Butarque, confirming their elimination from the Copa del Rey.

"The dream's over and and from a competitive point of view I feel screwed up over the result, but all the same I'm very proud of my players, I saw a lot of positives. We kept faith till the end. Real are a hell of a side and the boys deserve a lot of credit for having stayed in the match till the final whistle". Commenting on the game: "every Real break is already half way to a goal. Iván kept our hopes alive and at the break we had to decide between Saturday and keeping our belief, as much for myself as the squad, and we want the fans to believe too so we held fast to the death". 

Looking beyond to the next challenges the team face and on the players themselves, Nafti expressed a "need to correct certain things, how to take better advantage of our opponents etc. But these are things that can be improved in training. The important thing is how proud I am as certain players are making decisions for Saturday very difficult. For me, I'm happy enough seeing them out on the pitch and saying 'boss, I'm here and I want to play'. It's a blessed problem to have: the pick of the bunch". When asked what the objectives for the new year would be, the pepinero coach replied that "until five or six weeks from the season's conclusion, I will always say the same thing: our next opponents, Real Sociedad B. I can't tell you who we play after".