Real Oviedo defender, Héctor Verdés, appeared in the Press Room at El Requexón following the first training session of the week for Juan Antonio Anquela’s men.

Ahead of next weekend’s match against Sporting de Gijón, the centre back stated that “the team is approaching this week like any other. We must try to isolate ourselves from everything until the match, because it’s not good for us to get excited. Sunday at 18:00 is the time for that. It’s not good to be tense.” In addition, talking about how the team goes into the match, the defender said that, “it’s going to be an intense game and we need to be smart. The football is the same, but it has something special. We must treat it normally. I imagine it will be a match with a big crowd. We must approach it like any other game, with three more points available. It’s true that the environment around it will be different though.”

Elaborating on the atmosphere in the city going into the derby, the Real Oviedo centre back pointed out that, “I’ve been here three years, and people live football in another way. Oviedismo runs in the blood of the people. They have seen their team in difficult situations, and you notice that in how they live for their football club.”

Asked about the manner in which the two teams go into the encounter, Verdés believed that, “form doesn’t count for anything in either case. It’s a special game; one of those which you want to play in. We have players in good form though, and that helps.”

With respect to the differences which exist between this match and the one earlier in the season, the Valencian highlighted that, “that one was very early on. We didn’t know where we were going to be. There are three more points available and we are going to fight for them.”

Finally, regarding Real Oviedo’s performances in recent weeks, as they have put together a run of nine matches without defeat, Verdés stated that, “we have managed to be solid defensively and are tough to beat. That’s a good thing and we must keep going like this,” he concluded.