There is no break for the Real Oviedo first team at El Requexón, where Head Coach Cuco Ziganda today appeared in the Press Room and answered the questions put to him by members of the media.
With two days having now passed since the last match, which saw Los Azules fall to defeat against Almería, the Coach admitted that "winning is not the same feeling as when you don't get the points. The team put in a great effort and battled well, but didn't get the result, and that has consequences in terms of fitness and morale. We saw the match as important and it wasn't to be, but now we are thinking about Alcorcón. They are coming here in form and we have to be capable of producing a great performance in order to get a good result."
Ziganda will have several defensive absentees for the fixture against the Madrid side. With respect to the players missing, the Coach admitted that "we are a bit short in that position. Simone (Grippo) won't make it in time, nor will Carlos (Hernández), and our other centre backs are both on four yellow cards. We will make use of the players we have. We know the fixture schedule and we have to adapt." In addition, discussing the options remaining given those absences, the Coach highlighted that "the centre backs in the B team have the drawback that if they were to step up to the first team to play, they couldn't then drop back down again, so they are not an option. We will manage what we have. Right now we have two centre backs, and we will soon see, since we play again three days after this next match."
Regarding Alcorcón and Anquela's effect upon the side, Ziganda commented that "you all know him better than I do. He builds aggressive sides, who press you, and his numbers are there to see. He is again achieving what he achieved in his first spell (at Alcorcón)."
With respect to competition for Edgar and Tejera in the centre of the field, with Aburjania and Jimmy awaiting their moment to come into the team, Ziganda highlighted that "Aburjania is a player who wants the ball and is capable of bringing fluency to the play. He has had bad luck, given that he's struggled for continuity and hasn't yet trained for five consecutive days. He's had international duty, breaks, knocks...he hasn't trained. He is up against quality competition for places and he hasn't quite found his best performances. Given Aburjania's situation, Jimmy is an alternative. He trains fantastically every day. He's been the same from the first day to the last. You can rely on Jimmy, but he has competition ahead of him. I see him as a team player, he loves Real Oviedo, and it's not an easy situation for him. He is mature, though."
Talking about the importance of set pieces in the division, the Head Coach admitted that "there have been a lot of cases of us dominating matches and pushing a lot, but we have to make the most of set plays. We aren't getting the return from them that we could be. We saw how important they were in Zaragoza. We have to persevere and work on them, because they give you a lot of points."
Finally, asked about possible signings in the transfer market and the situations of players who are not getting game time, Ziganda stated that "whatever can improve us is welcome and would be good for everyone. I have not spoken to any player and nobody has come to me to talk about his personal situation. I usually talk to almost all of them, but about the matches. We are all aware of the situations of each player and we are not going to make life impossible for ourselves."
