Julen Lopetegui in the press conference ahead of Elche CF

LOPETEGUI: 'WE ARE FOCUSED ON ELCHE CF AND RECOVERING AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE'

05/03/2021
'They are organised, strong, and can hurt you at any moment'

Sevilla FC coach Julen Lopetegui spoke in front of the media this Friday afternoon in the pre-match press conference ahead of Elche CF-Sevilla FC tomorrow. Lopetegui began saying 'we are focused on recovering as quick as possible. We've had very little rest and we have another tough, important and demanding game, as all La Liga matches are. Elche have been improving since Escribá's arrival - they have changed in many aspects and make the most of their strengths. They are organised, strong, and can hurt you at any moment. They are in a positive moment and they've had a week to prepare for this. We have to adapt quickly to find the right answers tomorrow.'

'The team have been playing to the absolute limit since September and you can see that through the injuries and fatigue in the squad. We will see who can train and play so we can put out the best starting XI tomorrow. We can't forget the situation we're in and we have to manage it to get the best out of each and every player. We will make our decision tomorrow to see how we line up for the match.'

'We will wait and see what the doctors say before we make our decisions tomorrow'

'Bono injured his finger really badly just before the match and Aleix Vidal has a muscular injury that's still being treated. Koundé also pushed himself as he had a slight problem before the game. We will wait and see what the doctors say before we make our decisions tomorrow,' Lopetegui revealed when asked about injuries within the squad.

'I'm focused on Elche. When we win we turn to the next game, and likewise when we lose. We were seconds away from going through against one of the best teams in the world. Now we have La Liga and the Champions League. What's to come is what matters, nothing else.'

'We've been continually adapting for a year and the lack of fans is one of those adaptations. I hope we can get our fans back as soon as possible.'

Lopetegui also spoke about the lack of fans in the stadiums: 'Fans coming back would be a sign of things returning to normality, which is what we all want. As manager, I want our fans with us, that's where they belong. We've been continually adapting for a year, playing every three days and pushing ourselves to the limit in every competition and competing against the best. I can't wait until the fans can come back and help us, that would be a big plus. But we have to achieve our objectives this season under the circumstances we have.'

'When there is criticism we accept it. It speaks of the greatness of Sevilla FC. We were closer than what we could have imagined but these things happened in football. The last year we had a really bad moment against Mirandés and we came out of it. And we will do the same now, focusing on what's ahead. This Club always is ambitious to achieve everything it can. It does it through desire and setting goals.'

'We are just focused on the next game and recovering as quickly as possible'

'When you are the penalty taker, sometimes you miss them. That's part of football. Now we have to get back up and I'm sure he'll be a stronger player because of it. He's feeling great physically and is available for the game.'