SÁNCHEZ FLORES: "THE FEELINGS IN TRAINING ARE POSITIVE AND THE QUALITY IS CONSTANTLY IMPROVING"

Our head coach Quique Sánchez Flores spoke to the media during Thursday's pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow's home fixture against Deportivo Alavés. He started by saying "the feelings in the training sessions are positive and the quality is constantly improving. We will see how the game goes and try to make the best decisions at any given time."

"We are expecting a tricky game. They are a team that fights and always comes prepared. But we have a good group of players who are eager to play and put things right. It will be an intense game against a team that recently drew against Real Sociedad and pushed them to the limit. But we know our own ability and we now have new options up front with Isaac. We need players that are hungry and will work hard on the pitch, and Isaac will do exactly that."

"The players are eager and responding well in training so we're making progress. The demand is high over the next five months"

Our head coach insisted "I'm cautious, but I think the players have been taking things on board in the short time we've had together so far. We need a few more games for things to take shape. We've been reviewing our strengths and weaknesses, looking to reinforce or improve those so we can reach where we want to be. This is an important learning phase for the team. We're conscious of the club's situation, but there cannot be any bad energy in the dressing room. Right now, the spirit is good and we're embracing the challenge of making the most of this team's huge collective experience. The players are eager and responding well in training so in this respect we're making progress. We'll tighten things up and demand lots over the next five months."

"Anything that means winning is very good for us. Training, winning and seeing each other, that's always a perfect fit. We can't look down on each other, we need to act as a pack. We will always train with commitment and dedication. Getting out of this situation will be a process and I don't know if we're ready to say that we're going to get out of it now, but changing the course of the ship is often not the solution. Those who really believe what we're doing need to get behind us," he continued.

"I hope that we win tomorrow so that we can start looking up the table"

Sánchez Flores also said that "I will get to know the players as best as I can, but we have to make a more pragmatic analysis. I am completely on board with the club's decisions. I'm not against playing several young players, that is something that I have done throughout my career. If a youngster deserves to start over one of our experienced players, then that is what will happen, or vice-versa. For example, Juanlu and Kike Salas are playing well at the moment and deserve their spots in the starting XI."

Finally, he revealed that "I hope that we win tomorrow so that we can start looking up the table. We are more than capable of doing so, but we have to be on the top of our game. Hopefully we can stick to the game plan and get the result that we need. It will be so important going forward so that we learn and understand each other, and continue to win in the future."