JOSÉ CASTRO: "THERE IS AN AGREEMENT TO COVER THE WHOLE STADIUM SOONER RATHER THAN LATER"

The president José Castro was at the Restaurante Leña al Lomo on Monday where the live Radio Marca show was broadcast from. Castro went over all current activity around the club and began with the game in Villarreal: "Everyone was hoping for a win that would have given us mathematical qualification but it is an important point because we hope at home on Wednesday with our fans we can achieve it. They were very lively and supportive on Sunday but let's hope on Wednesday we can achieve that third consecutive qualification for the Champions League." Also, he was asked about the present form of the team: "That we are not playing well is clear and I am not going to deny it. The president sees everything and the game was bad but I noted the hunger of the team that fought and it is true that we had this anger and courage to go for everything and get the draw. We didn't have many chances but this hasn't happened to us in many games or on other occasions we have been prevented from scoring but we did score on Sunday." 

On the demands of the season he said that "we are getting very close to the end it is clear but in reality it is such a long season. Very few players were able to do preseason. The pandemic is not an excuse. I don't speak about performance nor about injuries, also the build-up of international games to alleviate all the games that have not been able to be played. Many players have come back exhausted and injured. Also, it has been a very difficult year because of injuries and because of covid that for whatever reason we have had a lot of. It has been a difficult and hard season. In the first half we were a serious and recognisable team and in the last few games it has not been like this. We have to be self-critical when the season ends and let's hope that every year that we play badly we are third and see ourselves among the biggest clubs in Spanish and European football." 

He recognises that the Sevilla fans all have the right to give their point of view: "You have to respect everyone who criticises because they don't like what they are seeing but you have to look at a lot more things. You don't have 65 points at this stage by accident, but rather because you are doing more things good than bad. I respect the fans and I can't disagree if they are capable of taking 1,300 to Villarreal. The fans are intelligent, knowing when they have to be critical and supporting when it is time to support. Don't forget that we talking about a game that the club played badly in. We are talking about a club that has been in Europe for 18 out of 19 seasons. There are so many things that have been achieved that a bad run of games won't make us panic. This club is capable of being self-critical and working and for this reason this is where we are because that is our obligation." Without a doubt he confirmed that he is only thinking about the coach completing his contract: "In the heart of the club there is no debate. What can happen in two months I don't know. There is no other opinion and I based this on figures. Lopetegui is the one who we were chanting until recently, the one who made us dream in the first half of the season and the one who made us champions in Cologne or concede the fewest goals in La Liga. There are many good things about the coach and a couple of negative ones because football is not an exact science."

"You have to respect those who don't like what they are seeing but you have to look at a lot more things" 

Castro also wanted to analyse the situation with a bit of perspective: "I will say to the many who are bewildered, have we ever been better than we are now? Playing well or badly is football but we have spent the whole season in the top four, closing in on second place. You have to know the difficulty of this in a league like ours. If this was easy anyone could do it and it is for this reason that we are proud of our team. There are bad things and things that we have to be self-critical about but we let's look up because we have done many good things in these years." Among other things he also spoke about the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán: "the pandemic made people used to staying at home but I think that the attendances have been growing bit by bit. More of the general public are coming but the Sevilla fans always go to be with their team and these are normal things. Also, we are seeing what is more appropriate with the stadium and we have an agreement to cover it. But this year it has rained in seven games, something that is not normal. Up until then it had been unusual. In the Champions League it rained in two games that were vital. We have the agreement, soon rather than later, of covering all of the stadium." 

To finish, he spoke about the chance of continuing to fight for yet a higher position: "I know that we are going to be there and that before Barcelona took points of us and now we are closer to the big clubs. If we were there it would be more likely but it continues being very difficult. We do things differently, with a lot less, and nobody will take away the hope and the hunger to try to do something important. We are going to continue dreaming but also fighting for these possibilities. The president will never be satisfied because everything seems so little. We want more and for as much as we can do, we will always continue wanting more. But this doesn't mean that we forget the difficulty of it and returning to the Champions League will be the first goal already achieved."