GARCÍA PIMIENTA: "VALLADOLID HAVE A LOT ON THE LINE ON SUNDAY BUT SO DO WE"

Xavi García Pimienta spoke ahead of Sunday's game against Real Valladolid. He began by talking about the players missing "Tanguy, Lokonga and Akor Adams due to injury. Badé and Saúl are unavailable due to suspension. We have been cautious with Sow during the week. Yesterday he did part of the training, today he has finished it and has a good feeling. If nothing unusual happens, he should be ready. Gudelj did the first part today and we have tomorrow's training session. We will see if he can make it. Here there is a little doubt because there are 48 hours left. It's a very demanding match. If you look at the standings it still shows the difficulty of the match. They haven't won for a long time, a bit like us. They have a lot on the line, but so do we. It's going to be difficult if we're not prepared for the type of match and the demands. The week of training has been quite good, I have no complaints in that sense and we all know the game we are going to face." 

With a number of academy players set to be included in the squad our head coach remains optimistic: "I have no doubt that the team we put out will be competitive. Some of the youth team players have come to train and they can also help us and they may have their chance. Manu Bueno, Ramón. The squad is ready. We have players missing due to suspension and injury and it will continue to happen because there are several players who have been suspended. We must give our best to achieve our goal of finishing as high as possible." 

"I have no doubt that the team we put out will be competitive" 

Regarding his relationship with the president and the sporting director, he made it clear that “it is the same as it has been since I arrived in July. The president is a person who calls me every day. Today we have seen each other, but if not, we always have that call to discuss things about training or even, on rest days, to see how we are doing. We also have a very good relationship with Victor. We have talked about what we had to talk about, but we are already thinking about the important thing, which is the match against Valladolid." 

And back to the squad, he confirmed that he will be included against Valladolid: “I know how well he is doing in the reserve team. He did pre-season with us and we know he was capable of contributing. He is having a very good season considering that the Primera Federación is a difficult league. I would like the youth players to come when things are going better, not out of necessity, but when there is a need, and I have lot's of experience of youth football, the players respond. Manu Bueno, Ramón. If Pablo Rivera has to play, and he will be included in the squad, I am sure that he will help us. He has quality and he is homegrown. Despite his youth, he is ready." 

He was asked to talk about the medium-term goal, but he prefers to take it step by step: "We have to earn the right to fight for something. I feel bad repeating it because I always say it, but on matchday 34, we’ll say where we’re looking. It’s useless to think about something we might not be able to achieve right now. We’re focused on Valladolid and finishing the match with the peace of mind that we gave it our all."

"Great teams are the ones that bounce back from especially adverse situations."

Furthermore, he made it clear again that injuries are not an excuse: "Great teams are the ones that bounce back from especially adverse situations. I have never made excuses, and of course, I would like both teams to have all their players available, with all the tools for each coach. We must recover from that. If we cry because we have many injuries, we’re waiting to lose the match. We’re going with all the guarantees, and if we don’t win with the team we put out, we’ll surely have our chances."

To conclude, he talked about Vargas and his possible role in the centre: "Rubén feels much more comfortable starting from the outside in, rather than directly in the middle. But he can help us, and now we have that shortage of players, with Peque or Suso available, who are good at linking up and have quality. Vargas, during the match, could play there because he understands the game well. Ejuke has played four matches and maybe he’s not showing his best version yet, but it’s part of the process after a serious injury. We have to be patient with him because he trains phenomenally, and I’m convinced that he will eventually find his best form."