Real Oviedo Coach Juan Antonio Anquela appeared in the Press Room at El Requexón today.
Just as in each pre-match interview, the Real Oviedo Head Coach began by providing an update on the injured players ahead of this weekend’s matchup, declaring that “we have Saúl back but that’s it for now. We don’t want to risk it with the others. A few more will be back next week.” Moreover, regarding Mossa’s progress, the Coach confirmed that “he is almost there. We have to take it easy. Mossa was in exceptional form before and had won his spot in the team. We hope he gets better as soon as possible.”
With Saúl’s return to the matchday squad confirmed, Juan Antonio Anquela stated that “I always want to have Saúl in there. We will have to talk and decide what is best for the team, because it’s difficult after so much time out.” Moreover, speaking about Saúl’s return to the group, the coach believes that “the people that are playing are doing very well. We cannot change the intensity, we have to understand that.”
Talking about the absence of Sory Kaba for Elche, following his move to Dijon FCO, Anquela highlighted that “Sory is a strong and powerful footballer, but now they have signed Yacine, who has always scored goals. He’s very similar.”
When asked about Elche’s low position in the table, the Coach understands that “this division is not odd, it’s logical. Matches are decided by the smallest of things, so we have to compete and work hard. Elche is the opponent that competed best against us here. This match will be completely different, but we have to compete and play at a high level.”
With the return of players for the last stretch of the season, the Coach commented that “if you look at it that way, it’s positive, but we don’t know what’s going to happen. We have to get to 50 points and tranquility first, and then start from there. We can dream, but we’ve got to get those 50 points in order to be able to think calmly about other targets. We have to take it week by week; there’s no other way.”
Finally, speaking about the absence of Yoel Bárcenas, Anquela concluded “you have seen the level of play and commitment that Bárcenas gives, but we are not going to make a mistake. We will find the best solution for the team. Yoel is receiving great praise for his personal efforts. He is an honourable, hard-working young man who has not been recognised enough. We are thankful for his decision to pass up on playing with the Panama National Team to in order to play with Real Oviedo. We needed him here and he missed an important match.”
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