Sevilla FC's Pablo Machín in the press conference
First team

MACHÍN: 'THERE WILL BE CHANGES BECAUSE I THINK THERE ARE PLAYERS WHO DESERVE AN OPPORTUNITY'

24/10/2018
The Soria-born coach made it clear that 'if we start thinking we can win because of who we are, we're mistaken.'

Pablo Machín was accompanied by Aleix Vidal in the official press conference ahead of their match against Akhisar. He spoke first about the treatment table: 'It's clearing up little by little and I hope that it won't go back to being as crowded as it has been in recent weeks or at least it'ill be a long time before it does. Mercado had some time to readjust himself to a match after Kjaer's knock, which doesn't seem to be anything serious in the end, although he's been unable to train. Escudero and Amadou are continuing with their process and Gonalons will rejoin the group next week. That will make us more competitive, although football has its paradoxes and we've had our best results when we've had the most difficulties. There are players who have given us things that we didn't think they could in other circumstances and that's made us better.'

The Soria native believes that the recovery of the players can help to maintain their performance: 'The reality is that it's difficult to improve the results, the numbers and the moral. The objective is to prolong this good dynamic, and even if the opponents play better in a given match, we have to be able to do what we've been doing so far because the players have demonstrated that they are capable.'

'The objective is to prolong this dynamic, beyond a single given match'

Speaking about their opponents, he made it clear that there is no room for complacency: 'They may not be well-known but no one gets gifted a place in this competition. They're bottom of their league and haven't got a point in the Europa League, but if we start thinking that we can win just because of who we are, we're very much mistaken. They've won one game in their league and that was against the league leaders so they have the ability. There are players who are known in our league and we have to go into the game with professionalism, take the first chances we get and make sure everyone knows that we're in a European competition and there are no easy wins here.'

He also did not hide the fact that there will be several alterations to the starting line-up: 'There will be changes because I think it's good to freshen up the starting eleven and because there are other players who are earning their chance to be picked. It's not just for the sake of giving people minutes, but because they deserve it. We shouldn't make radical changes because in case things don't go the way we think, I don't want the blame being placed on those players. We have to think a bit more about the eleven and I can't tell you how many changes there will be, but there will be a few.'

 

Moving onto specific players, Machín was asked about the possible involvement of Luis Muriel: 'He has the ability and we have to give him confidence, and also an environment in which he can perform better. But the one who'll have the final word is himself and the first step is to show interest and attitude. He's been committed and the other day he played a few minutes which other players could have taken on with less interest. On top of scoring the goal, he pressed and combined well with his teammates. That's the path to getting more playing time.' Speaking about Gnagnon, he affirmed that 'he picked up a knock yesterday and he felt some discomfort today. He's one of the doubts that we have to clear up tomorrow, but beyond that, it's true that he needs time to adapt. He's still in that phase but we believe that he's a good footballer. My job is to get the best out of him little by little because when a lot of people think the same thing, it's unlikely that they're wrong.'

With regards to Promes, he said that it was a situation 'similar to Gangnon's, but he may be a bit more used to going out of his comfort zone. He's getting on well with the group and he's adapted to the city and the team, but he has to show it on the pitch. We're yet to see the Promes that we signed but that's good because there is still a lot of work to do. We'll see if we can bring out the best in him and make the most of a footballer that has what it takes to shine here.' To finish, he did not wish to reveal whether Borja Lasso would get playing time tomorrow or if he would have to wait for the cup: 'He's training with us and he's showing his quality in training, behaving like a professional. He'll get his chance when I see fit, but we have lots of players and he knows what the club demands from him. If he's better than those who train with him every day, I'll have no problem in picking him.'