Julen Lopetegui gave his pre-match press conference at midday today, ahead of the away fixture at RC Celta de Vigo on Sunday afternoon. The coach began by stating that "the team are eager to compete again, they're excited and are aiming to play well in Vigo, against a great team that we know well. The international players coming back and the knocks they may have form part of this, it's something we have to live with and we'll compete regardless of the context".
"I'm expecting a very tough match. They really know how to play and have excellent players who can decide matches. They will demand so much of us both in attack and in defence, so we'll have to be at our best. They're a complete side who attack and defend in a very consolidated way. The players they have are well-chosen for their style of play", continued Lopetegui.
"I'm not looking at debates, I'm looking at hard work and trying to improve, that's our job"
The coach then went into more depth about the return of international players, En-Nesyri, and a possible debut for Augustinsson: "If one player can't play, another will and we completely trust all of them. En-Nesyri has not trained with us yet so we're waiting on his return. I don't know if Augustinsson will be there against Celta but it's a long season, everyone here is available and they all have a role for whenever they receive the call. That goes for him and for everyone".
To finish, Lopetegui spoke about living with the demands placed on the team for every match: "We do our analysis and draw conclusions to improve and grow, both after wins and defeats. I'm not looking at debates, I'm looking at hard work and trying to improve, that's our job. That's what our energy is for. The demands are fantastic and we take them on board, that's what shows us the way. We've got some very demanding, nice and tough games now and we must approach them with the best mentality".
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