PIMIENTA: "REAL SOCIEDAD HAVE A DEMANDING SCHEDULE BUT THEY HAVE THE SQUAD TO COMPETE"

Xavi García Pimienta spoke ahead of Sunday's game against Real Sociedad. If all goes well, Lokonga will be included in the squad: “Sambi has already trained all week, first partially and today, and hopefully tomorrow, the full session. If nothing happens at the last minute, he will be included in the squad to help us. It is great news to have him back for Sunday." 

Real Sociedad played last night against Manchester United in the Europa League but our coach expects to face a competitive side: “They have the squad to compete in three competitions, they are doing very well and it is true that, when you play Thursday, Sunday, Thursday next week and Thursday, you have that fatigue. But their squad is very complete and has allowed them to stay alive in the Copa del Rey. Looking at yesterday's game, they are also very much alive in the Europa League. It is a very demanding match. If any of the players who played yesterday are rested, others will be ready. Imanol is doing an incredible job, but the important thing is that we play a good game, know what we have to do, make the most of our strengths and cut out our mistakes to get the three points." 

To try to get those elusive back-to-back wins, we have to start by winning on Sunday: “It depends on us. We have been very close but so far we have not been able to do it. The other day we had a very difficult match at Vallecas and we came back to get a point at a place where it's difficult to go. We have to think that the important thing now is Real Sociedad. If we get the three points, then we can think about Athletic Club. We have the points we deserve, we are where we deserve to be and we hope to earn the right to compete and fight for important things. Everything will depend on us. When there are four or five matches left, we will see where we can go as a team." 

To achieve this, it is important to dominate more in both areas: “We generate enough chances to score more goals. Then we also need to be more solid defensively. The other day they scored a great goal in the top corner from the edge of the area. If you give a first division player the space, it is possible for him to do that. We have made other mistakes, like the goal against Mallorca when we looked set to win. The goals scored by our opponents have often been due to our mistakes. Everything depends on being much more solid at the back and naturally being effective up front because we generate enough to score more." 

"Lokonga trained fully and we hope he can help us on Sunday" 

He also spoke about Carmona's call-up to the Spain squad: “It was one of those pleasant surprises. He is having a great season, he is performing excellently, he has earned the right to be a starter and he is doing very well. He is very young, he did well with the Under-21s and has earned the right to play with the senior team. He is in the pre-list because De la Fuente has seen things in him. I hope he does make it into the final squad and that would make us all happy. But I think he also has a lot of room to keep developing and improving because he has a bright future." 

Adams is also on Nigeria's preliminary squad list: "He has been working with the rehabilitation coach. He needs to undergo tests to see if he can be available next week. To join the national team, I understand he must have medical clearance for competition. But that depends on our medical team. It’s understandable that his national team wants to call him up, but I believe he needs to fully recover first."

Returning to Real Sociedad and the demands of their schedule, he mentioned, "Imanol will have to make rotations. They will likely make changes due to injuries and because some players also deserve to play. If the same players kept playing, they would be more tired, but there will be fresh players coming in. It depends on us being up to the level of the match and the demands of Real, regardless of whether they played yesterday. They have a squad capable of competing in three competitions, and that’s why they are doing so well."

"We must be up to the level of the match and the demands of Real Sociedad"

Regarding Vargas, he stated, "A January signing doesn’t usually turn out this well, but Rubén has been a blessing because of the gap we had and his adaptation. He has integrated very well into the changing room and is performing at an excellent level. He has earned the right to play, and we expect more from him in terms of goalscoring because he generates a lot in attack, scored a great goal against Barcelona, and let's see if he takes that extra step to help us in the goalscoring aspect. But he is the perfect January signing. We are very happy with the performance he is giving."

To finish, he spoke about the retirement of former player Álvaro Negredo: "It’s a pleasure to have had a player like Negredo in Spain and here at Sevilla. He is doing his training with the C team, and I hope his coaching career is as successful as his playing career. From here, we will help him in any way possible."