Real Oviedo Head Coach Cuco Ziganda appeared in the Press Room at El Requexón ahead of the Logroñés fixture.
How are you personally approaching the Logroñés match, having dropped into the relegation zone?
- Hungry for the match. Instead of thinking about the Leganés game, we are now thinking about Logroñés, about getting the three points, and about taking a step forward. Morale is still very high and we are looking forward to the match.
With the packed schedule and the need to win, could the experience of the final stage of last season serve to help both you and the squad?*
- That experience has to help us. It all adds up and we have to learn from every type of situation. Everything was very intense last season. There was a lot of pressure and we had to work out how to manage the group. We are in nowhere near the same position as last year. We are not in that situation and there's time for anything to happen still, and time to improve. We have to focus on Logroñés and on getting the win. We have to start to win games and get out of the situation we are in. Time will tell us where we are. We are focusing on the match and this situation is nothing like last year's.
What do you know about Logroñés?
- Newly-promoted teams keep their coaches and their formations, and know them by heart. Logroñés play good football and are well-organised, but, like us, they are finding it hard to score goals. They are a team that I like watching.
How do you explain taking Femenías, one of the standout players so far this season, out of the team?
- I like people training well. I am delighted with Joan, with how he is as a person and how he trains, but I thought that Gabriel deserved to play. I have to go for whoever I see as playing better, and I am confident no matter which one of them plays. Joan is in good form and is going to be focused. I have no qualms about either of them playing.
Do Brazao and Femenías both have the same chances of playing against Logroñés on Wednesday?
- They have the same chances, I don't mind which one plays. I believe in both and am delighted to have them both. They are players with quality and train very well.
Two days after the Leganés match, do you now regret the tactics used at Butarque?
- As Vicente del Bosque said, the nice thing about football is that everybody talks, everybody understands, and everybody is right. I don't regret it. We knew what the match would be like; very even. I can say that I am happy with people's attitudes, which have to help us improve. We need points and we are in the situation we are in, but teams achieve their objectives in that way, step by step.
In a press conference at the start of the season, you commented that the squad had lost assists, goals and solidity with the departures of certain players. Do you think that these players will end up making the same contribution?
- I was talking about numbers and statistics. This is our squad, our players, and we make it thinking about what will give us these contributions. We have to believe in them, they are working and they want it. We have difficulties, but we have to believe. I see how they work and they do everything they need to do. I would go with them to the end.
Ever since your arrival, your ability to make a solid team has been highlighted. What do you think the team is lacking currently in order to be more solid?
- They are minor details. Looking at the defensive work the other day... the goals come from individual errors, and we have to correct them. We don't have to blame anybody. In defence we are committed and organised. We just have to perfect it.
