MENDILIBAR: "THE MESSAGE HAS SUNK IN AND THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN GOING OUR WAY"

José Luis Mendilibar spoke to the media ahead of tomorrow's fixture against Villarreal CF at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. The boss started by discussing the squad's fitness after Thursday's European clash: "We aren't going to complain but the guys are still tired. We have a day until our next game and I hope they can rest up. Sometimes you think you have it all thought out about who is going to play but we won't decide until tomorrow. Right now, there are a lot of doubts". 

In Mendilibar's opinion, the team is coming into the fixture against Villareal "in good form and off the back of an important knockout tie. We know that tomorrow's game is going to be extremely complicated, they have top players and their play is very good. Physical fatigue is compounded by mental fatigue. In the first half an hour of the match, you may not notice the tiredness you may have". In the same vein, the boss commented on the increase in confidence after the last few games: "It's the confidence that gets you results, no matter who gives the orders at the club. At first, we were drawing and then winning without playing too well, this encourages you to dig in. If you don't win, it's difficult for that to sink in. The message has sunk in and the results have been going our way. Now, there are few days for us to recover for the next game. We'll see if it shows mentally how the recent results and the team's play are going".

"We aren't going to change our style of play, we are going to keep up the good work"

When discussing the ways to approach games, Mandilibar said that "we aren't going to change our style of play, we are going to keep up the good work. Villareal's style, in theory, favours us in order to do what we want to do. Normally they want to play out from the back, giving us the option to press and knowing full well that we are going to do that. We will see who comes out on top". 

The boss emphasised the players' fatigue, expressing his uncertainty as to which players will be able to make the starting line-up, while also assessing Marcao's injury: "Right now there are many doubts surrounding the fitness of the players that played on Thursday, they're tired. Today, they couldn’t have played a game. By having one more day, you'd expect them to be recovered. Having all the players helps but when you have a game every three to four days, all injuries are bad news. Marcao is injured but it isn't the same as the last one. He got injured again in his third game back. It's likely that he will be out for the remainder of the season. I hope he is fully recovered and that he is back for preseason with a clean mindset and that he forgets about the injury. Only time will tell". 

"I wish I had competed in as many competitions as Sevilla FC has so far"

Concerning the football calendar, Mendilibar expressed his opinion on the matter: "A Supercup that was supposed to be one match now has a different layout. From international friendlies to now a new competition. Sometimes people's physical condition can't take it. If we are at the stage of organising and playing more matches, not much else can be said". Once again, the focus was shifted to Mendilibar's players and their tiredness with the boss highlighting that the player's recovery isn't a way of making excuses: "I don't want to make excuses about the tiredness, I wish I had competed in as many competitions as Sevilla FC has so far".

The Sevilla boss also commented on Tecatito's fitness ahead of tomorrow's league game: "Tectatito's situation is complicated, he is in the squad list but yesterday and today he didn't train due to discomfort. If you could call up fifty players, you would call up everyone up to the reserve team. When you're not fit you have to stay at home and, although he is on the bench, he won't be involved. The rest of them are to help out. They have to be mentally prepared so that they can properly help us out". 

In closing, Mendilibar complimented the in-form En-Nesyri: "He likes that people single him out and that's what I do. Before I came he was already scoring goals. He said it himself, "I am going to score twenty goals (this season)". He won't be far off, I hope". Suso's name was also mentioned with compliments and promises from Mendilibar: "If he wants to play more, he will have to run more than what he already does. He is a great footballer. He knows he has his downfalls and that he has to improve on them. He has to finish off the chances he is presented with. When he does all of that, he will be able to play in that position and, if not, he will have to play in another". Lastly, the coach decided to refrain from making any comments about the game against Juventus: "We are going to wait, there are a few games until then".