Real Oviedo Head Coach, Juan Antonio Anquela appeared in the Press Room at El Requexón following the penultimate training session of the week.
The Carbayón Coach began by weighing up his team’s week of work, assuring that, “the day-to-day work on the pitch and in the dressing room has all gone well. The week’s passed calmly by. We need to be capable of competing and making our fans happy. We need to look at the reality, which is that there are three points available, just as in any other match. The points against Sporting are worth exactly the same as any others. The thing is that our fans are excited, and that has to give us something extra.”
Regarding the encounter with the side from Gijón and the atmosphere surrounding it, the Coach said that, “I know what I am going to see from it. It will be more or less like the away game. I’m only worried about what happens on the pitch and I just want us to be able to compete at the level demanded by the match. We need to keep doing what has been giving us results so far; using our heads and competing. Small details will decide the match, as they do every weekend, and I hope that they fall our way. It’s just another game and we don’t need to give any more significance to it.”
With respect to the players who will be available again for Sunday’s match, the Coach highlighted that, “we have everyone back except Viti. If Toché is ready to play ninety minutes he will do so, but if not, we will wait. Aarón should in theory be back, but if not, we will put someone else in. Fabbrini and Olmes are fine and could come in. We are going to take it slowly and think about what is best for everyone.” In addition, Anquela declared
that, “we have never complained about our injuries, and we won’t change our mindset for this match either.”
Asked about the next opponent and what worries him most about Baraja’s side, the Real Oviedo Coach said that, “I’ve seen their last few matches. They are a professional and organised side, who can play good football. They will be a very good opponent, but we are too. It’s a team that has just come down from the top division, they’ve signed well, and are just as strong as earlier in the season.”
With regard to the state of the pitch and how the adverse weather forecasts could affect the style of football, Anquela commented that, “we can’t control those factors, so we will adapt to them instead. We need to be intelligent enough to adapt to whatever happens. I don’t know how it is going to be. I don’t like talking about matters that are out of my control. It’s all a guessing game and I am not going to get involved in that.”
Asked about how the first team players approach this match and whether there could be nerves given that it is a derby, the Carbayón Head Coach pointed out that, “we are professionals and we need to know why we want it. We are ready to compete and can’t go off track. The main aim is to beat everyone out there on the pitch, and we need to play well in order to do that.” Furthermore, talking about the final words he will say to the players before they take to the field at the Carlos Tartiere, Anquela stated that, “I will ask them to enjoy the moment. We have to go out there and see what we need to do to please our fans. Their hearts and feelings are full of love for this club, and this means we have to give even more. I have a lot of responsibility. We are playing with a lot of feelings, and when the feelings come from within it makes it more complicated. They ask us to work hard and give everything, which is what we will do.”
Asked whether Sunday’s result will determine the remainder of the season for Real Oviedo, the Andalusian Coach said that, “last year (at Huesca) I was involved in an important derby. We lost the six points but at the end of the season we finished twelve points ahead of them. This match doesn’t have to decide anything. We will go out there to compete, just as we will in the following match. If we weren’t to do that, we would be making a mistake.”
Finally, regarding what he will do in order to achieve the victory on Sunday, Anquela stated that, “I will do the same as usual. There is no other option than to think about the coming match. I am the same person in good and bad times. I am never going to change my way of going about things, nor my discourse. You have to be a good person and follow your guiding principles right from the start,” he concluded.
