Anquela: “We have to win”

Real Oviedo Head Coach, Juan Antonio Anquela, appeared in his first pre-match press conference of the year this morning.

Asked about Saúl Berjón, the Coach explained that, “he’s got a slight knock. His tendon has swollen up and he can’t move forward. We’re leaving him out because we don’t want to take any chances. The Three Kings are coming tomorrow and perhaps they could bring us a miracle, but it’s not easy. It’s a shame because he’d been training perfectly and had done all the work well… It’s not in the leg he had injured previously, it’s in the other one.”

Regarding the team’s return following the Winter Break, the Coach commented that, “they have a lot of desire and hope, just like they always do. We’ve always given it everything and done everything with force. The only thing is that the matches haven’t gone as we’d wanted.”

With respect to the formation he’s been trying out this week, and which one he prefers to use, Anquela highlighted that “the team has to try to adapt to whatever works best for us. We are practising a lot of things and thinking it over. Generally, we’ve been organised, although there have been matches where things haven’t worked out well for us. We need to look at a lot of things, such as the length of time Joselu has spent without playing… we think about things, plan them, and then we can be forced into altering them anywhere and at any time.”

Talking about the next opponent, Numancia, the Coach highlighted that, “they are a team that got to the playoff final last year. They have nearly the same team and the people they’ve signed are also contributing. They’re a very good team and they have the players in the midfield to play good football. They are capable of doing anything, be it playing directly, breaking quickly on the counter… And they have players who do things well and with ease. What I am expecting is to face a competitive team who have a lot of alternative ways of playing.”

Asked what he is asking of the New Year, Anquela admitted that, “the first thing is to have everyone back. Then, for us to be clinical, because I think it’s the only thing we’ve been lacking. You can never know whether the Break was a good thing. We weren’t winning, and unfortunately the only things which matter are the results. We have to win; that’s what it’s all about. We have to be clear about what we want to do. When you put on the Real Oviedo shirt you have to go out there to fight and ready to battle,” he concluded.