MONCHI: "BASED ON THE PROBLEMS WE CURRENTLY FACE, WE THOUGHT THAT MENDILIBAR WAS THE SOLUTION"

After many questions were put to José Luis Mendilibar, it was President José Castro and Monchi's turn to face the media. Castro was asked about the supposedly unexpected costs that the club has spent this season, he noted that "there is now a pressing issue on the sporting front. We have opted to make a change because we knew that it was necessary. We believe that José Luis is the person to bring a good end to the season so that we don't need to worry about this situation that we find ourselves in."

Monchi spoke about the reasons behind the change in the dugout: "I think that any analysis of what is going on or what has happened has got to be an internal process. These discussions have led to this decision and one cannot look back and speak publicly on these things and bring to light things that are not common knowledge. You all know how close we are to the players and the coach, and we always want to know if there are issues and find solutions. What we thought was that José Luis was the right person to come in. There were other options and I disagree with the idea that nobody wanted to come for just three months. There were in fact various options, but based on the problems that we see, we believe that Mendilibar is the answer."   

On whether the first job for the Basque coach is to bring consistency to the club, Monchi was insistent that "I have already said this to him, that there isn't just one problem. I am not going to tell him because he already has over 400 matches in LaLiga under his belt, he has managed big clubs and smaller ones, but everywhere he goes he delivers the same messages and objectives. His skills are what we are looking for. Consistency is one of them, but that is not the only thing that wins matches. Having diagnosed the problem, we have to find a solution and we believe that José Luis can do this in the final stretch of the season, in LaLiga and in the Europa League too."

Speaking about the economic side, he said that "everything we spend money on is important, but as the President has said, we have looked for solutions that have been done in the past. We are now focused on the present, it is complicated, and there is still time. I am sure that we will find ways of alleviating the expenses that we had not planned for." 

Monchi: "I am not going to tell him because he already has over 400 matches in LaLiga under his belt, he has managed big clubs and smaller ones, but everywhere he goes he delivers the same messages and objectives"

With regard to whether the decision was made by the sporting committee or the advisory board, Monchi wished to make clear that "here there is a Committee and everyone puts their opinion on the table on whatever the theme is, it is debated and is discussed internally. It's democratic and just that everyone is able to share their opinions but once the decision is made, it is defended by all. I don't think that anyone in the Committee was more hopeful than I that Sampaoli could turn things around, but that is now José Luis' task. We all believe that was the right decision. When we have achieved what we have achieved, it doesn't matter now. This club has always grown from controversial calls."

To close, he was asked about the Europa League: "The lack of experience of the coach in Europe is balanced out by the fact that he has overseen more than 400 matches in LaLiga. ​​​​​​​I don't think that we are going to throw away our chances in the UEL so that we can stay up. We have got to always be competitive and concentrate on whatever the task at hand is. First is Cádiz, then Celta, then Manchester, Valencia... The club has not grown through being lazy, but being ambitious."