Real Oviedo head coach Juan Antonio Anquela spoke to the press this afternoon, after the last preseason practice of the first week, to evaluate the work that his team has put in so far. “Everything has been going great so far. The problems start to come up when the moment of truth arrives. Today we finished our first week, the players have responded well, and now we need to keep working to see if we can put together a good team that can compete. We’ve made a lot of progress since last year, everything is going a little faster because the majority of the players know what we want. What we need to do is take one more step forward”, said the head coach.
When asked if he would like to have more players at his disposal at this point, Anquela explained that, “You’ve got to take things slowly and calmly. We can’t sign the best players, it’s not possible. I want players that compete and I can say to them, ‘this is what I want’. Nothing more. I want them to understand what the division is like. I know what I can get out of each of them, and that is what I’d like to have at my side. People who you can look at and they know what we are asking of them”.
Regarding the type of players and the type of football that he plans to practice with them, the Real Oviedo head coach explained that, “If we can give a little more it would be better for everyone. Last year we got very very near. I’ve got eleven or twelve [players] to start the season and we are bringing out a team with which we have been competing at a high level. If we are lucky enough to be successful at accomplishing the little that we are seeking, I think we would take another little step forward. Every year is a different story, this year there are 22 teams that want to move up. Everyone wants to, and everyone has the same right to do so and that right is won in each week of competition”.
The position that probably needs the most help is forward, but Anquela seems to be convinced that, “Toché hasn’t forgotten about that. He’ll resurge like the phoenix. I’m very happy with him, and with what he’s doing and what he’s going to do”.
Regarding the players that have already arrived to restrengthen the team, “To me it’s very important that they know how this works”, the Real Oviedo head coach commented referring to knowledge of the division his players already have. “A competitive team is made with calm and with people that know the territory that they’ll be moving through”, he concluded.
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