Real Oviedo Head Coach, Juan Antonio Anquela, appeared in the Press Room at El Requexón, after the team trained behind closed doors.
As is the norm ahead of any match, the Coach began by analysing the state of the team going into the next match, in this case against Albacete. He declared that, “it’s good news. We have got players back who had been missing. Today we have nobody in the treatment room.”
Juan Antonio Anquela will not have Rocha available for Saturday’s match at the Carlos Tartiere, as the Competition Committee rejected Real Oviedo’s appeal against the red card he received at the Carranza. With respect to this issue, the Coach said that, “I don’t want to get involved in that because it will only cause problems. Referees talk about using new technology, but if it’s going to be like that then I’m not sure. I don’t want to get involved.” In addition, talking about how to overcome Rocha’s
absence in midfield, Anquela highlighted that, “it’s obvious that it disrupts us. He is a regular starter. However, I have no doubt that whoever plays there will do well. We have a balanced squad, and whoever plays is going to perform. We will look at it tomorrow and then decide. Everyone is working well. Those who haven’t been playing have trained at a pleasing level. It’s a shame we have to leave people out.”
Asked more specifically about whether Juan Forlín could step into Rocha’s spot in midfield, the Coach emphasised that, “I see Forlín as being capable of playing anywhere and performing to a high standard. Forlín has played a lot of games in Spain, and the vast majority were in midfield, so he knows the role.”
Regarding the next opponent, Albacete, and the match he expects to see at the Carlos Tartiere, the Carbayón Coach stated that, “they are a strong, solid second-division club. Albacete compete just as much as anybody, and that makes them a difficult team. We will need to do very well and keep playing this type of football in order to win. We mustn’t forget who weare and where we came from. We haven’t won any match comfortably at home, and this will be no exception. We are a team that plays very good football. We try to take the game to our opponent; sometimes we achieve it and other times we don’t.”
In addition, regarding the fact that Albacete are missing two of their key men in attack, and how it could affect the away side’s play, Anquela said that, “they are two good players. They usually start, but obviously they will have to play some others. We are going to be ready for a struggle and for a hard match, knowing that if we make a mistake they will punish us.”
Finally, when asked whether the defeat at the Carranza could affect the team going into Saturday’s match at the Carlos Tartiere, Anquela commented that, “I don’t think we are better than Cádiz or any other team, but nor are we worse. We aren’t going to forget who we are or where we came from. We need to think that we lost against a very good opponent,” he concluded.
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