SORIANO: 'I'M WORKING AND WORKING TO BE READY FOR WHEN THE MANAGER WANTS ME'

He admits he signed the contract 'knowing the risks, I didn't know whether I'd stay in the reserves, be in the first team or go out on loan.  I knew that Sergio Rico and David Soria were there, but no matter where I would be I'd have to compete with other goalkeepers so I accepted the contract. I really wanted to extend it.'

'I'm not scared now that I'm only a step away from making my debut in La Liga, I'm actually very excited'

He has been given his opportunity in the summer. First Vaclik arrived, and then Rico and Soria left. Finally, Pablo Machín gave the youth graduate his chance, something that 'doesn't put pressure on me, being from the academy is a plus for me and it serves as an example that with work and dedication you can graduate to the first team. The only thing I'm doing and want to continue doing is to work, work, work, and train as hard as I can every day so the manager trusts me when the moment comes. It's all very exciting, I'm never scared because your ambition when starting out as a youth player is to make the step up to the first team and now that I'm only a step away from making my debut I'm not scared. I'm really excited and I want to make my debut.'

He will have to compete with Vaclik to make his debut, who he can only praise: 'He's a great teammate. He comes from another country and a different culture but he surprised me because he's very close, he's always helping us and he always has a smile on his face... It really helps when your teammate is so close to you.'

He didn't only wax lyrical about the Czech goalkeeper, he praised the whole squad as well: 'It's a really tight-knit dressing room and there's a lot of Spanish players, something that we haven't had much in the past few years.' This is a key aspect of Pablo Machín's philosophy: 'The coach doesn't care about the players' nationality or any beliefs or customs they might have. What he wants is a team, he wants us to be a team because teams win trophies. A player can win you a match, but if the team is divided, you'll end up failing. This is why he wants us to be united. Ever since the manager arrived we've been united and eager to learn. At half-time in the game against Rayo, we were 3-0 up and the team never gave off a feeling of uncertainty or mistrust.

'The past stays in the past in football. What we do on Thursday doesn't count for Sunday and so on'

Soriano also shows maturity when talking about the start in the league: 'It's essential to keep your feet on the ground in football. What's happened has happened. You can't live in the past. Now there's another important match on Thursday to see if we play in the Europa League or not and then we have Villareal on Sunday. But what we do on Thursday doesn't count for Sunday, and what we do on Sunday doesn't count for the next match. You always have to keep your feet on the ground, improve on your last match and learn from your mistakes. The match against Rayo was complicated as we were away from home, and now Villareal are coming who'll be fighting with us up there in the league and then obviously there's the derby, which no matter the circumstances is a special game because it's the city derby. I've never experienced the derby as a first team player so I'm very excited.

He admitted he had another wish: 'I really want to hear the fans' hymn as a starter... That'll happen when it happens. In the meantime, I'm working and working to be ready for when the manager wants me.'

You can see his ambitions for the season, the joke the team played on him and the entire interview in the video which accompanies this report.