Real Oviedo Head Coach, Juan Antonio Anquela, appeared in the Press Room at El Requexón following the final training session of the week.
Ahead of tomorrow’s match in Vallecas, the Coach admitted that, “it will be a battle. That’s the best word for it. If we don’t go into games ready for that, we won’t beat anybody. We have that very clear in our minds. Football in this division requires you to go to compete and play well. We must go to Vallecas in the same way we went to Huesca, fighting until the last second. We must be a team. If we aren’t, then we won’t get anything.”
Fighting until the end is the message that the Coach has been reiterating ever since his arrival at the club. Talking about his vision of football, Anquela highlighted that, “it’s what I look for. I’m tiresome and I will never change, particularly my way of talking. Football has taught me that you must follow a certain path, and if we were to deviate from it, then we
would be making a mistake.”
One of the best pieces of news for the Real Oviedo Coach in recent weeks has been the recovery of players who had been suffering from injuries. Talking about this topic, Anquela said, “there’s just a few people to become available again now and that gives me a headache. Viti is in the final stages of his recovery, Fabbrini continues progressing, and we have
Yeboah still to come back, but all the others are available.” In addition, with respect to the four players who are one yellow card away from suspension, Anquela declared that, “we have a few in that position, but it doesn’t worry me. If one has to come out, then another can fill in. That’s why we have them here working with us. I don’t want to get myself in trouble, but I saw no reason for Forlín’s card (last weekend). It was a normal passage of play and the ball was cleared. I don’t understand it. We appealed it, but they didn’t rescind it.”
Several first team players stayed behind to practise penalty kicks following this morning’s session. Regarding this issue, Juan Antonio Anquela believed that, “it’s all about getting it right. It’s just in each one’s head, nothing else. The good thing is that they keep giving us penalties, because if they are giving us them, then it means we are getting into the opposition’s area.”
With respect to the next opponent, Rayo Vallecano and what he expects from the Madrid side, the Coach said that, “they are a very good team, like every team in this division. We need to take it one game at a time. On Friday we must go there to fight, battle, and compete. They have fine players all over the pitch and we must apply ourselves. I know that we are
going to face an opponent that likes to have the ball, as do we.” In addition, regarding the reverse fixture, which was Real Oviedo’s first defeat of the season, the Coach admitted that, “it hurt me. We were excited beforehand. We must go there ready. We can dream, but knowing that things can always not turn out as you hope. We’ve known how to overcome obstacles and now we must keep ourselves up there. We can’t forget how much it cost us to get here.”
Finally, asked about possible arrivals and departures during the Winter transfer window, Juan Antonio Anquela admitted that, “I don’t want to lose anyone, but some things are obvious in football. Everyone wants to come to Real Oviedo, but nobody wants to leave. It’s a good sign. If someone comes who is better than what we have, then he is welcome,” he concluded.
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