Real Oviedo Head Coach Cuco Ziganda today appeared in the Press Room, in the lead-up to Friday's match against CD Tenerife.

Having picked up three points last weekend in Sabadell, Ziganda analysed the current state of his team, describing how "the team is as you would expect after a game and is doing well, although obviously we will be without Carlos (Hernández) and Tejera until the New Year. Simone (Grippo) is not ready for a full match, but we needed him for fifteen minutes the other day. He will be in the matchday squad this week, but we would prefer him to continue to progress with his recovery and then come back in when he is fully fit."

At the Nova Creu Alta the Gaffer brought in several players who had not been featuring regularly so far this season. With regard to this matter, Ziganda commented that "there were changes, and we used two or three players who hadn't been playing, and they all performed. It's reassures us and gives us confidence, and we know we can still count on them. We are happy with the result and happy that those players, who are homegrown, put in that level of performance. They'd earned the right to play through their day-to-day work, given that nobody gets gifted anything here. Jimmy had already played and we knew his level, while Riki hadn't played at all but did very well. We are happy for them."

Asked about Riki's role and what he can give the team in the coming matches, the Coach highlighted that "we had just played a lot of successive matches, and we saw that Riki could give us possession and the final ball. With Riki the important thing is that when we need him he does his job, with good tempo, workrate and technique. Riki earned the right for us to believe in him, but we will make decisions based on the characteristics of the match."

With respect to Friday's starting eleven, Ziganda stressed that "we will choose the best team possible, and the one that we feel gives us the best chance of beating Tenerife. I'm sure there will be the odd change given how little recovery time there is. We are getting more players back, which is the best thing for the team and for the Coach."

Regarding the fact that Real Oviedo's results are currently better away from home than at the NMR Carlos Tartiere, the Head Coach admitted that "it's strange. When we started after the lockdown, everybody was talking about whether playing at home or away mattered without fans in the stadium. We miss our fans. Them being missing is one of the reasons that we are  getting less points at home. It's a mental issue, not a footballing one. We have to concentrate well and play the type of match we are comfortable with. We want to turn it around as soon as possible."

Ahead of the Tenerife encounter, Ziganda reasoned that "it's another opportunity. Alcorcón came here the other day. They are lower down the table than Tenerife and they made it difficult for us. The matches are even and decided by fine details, particularly with such a tight schedule. It will be an even match. They have just changed their coach and I don't expect it to be an easy game at all. I imagine it will be similar to the Alcorcón game."

Finally, asked about Nahuel Leiva, who cannot play against his parent club due to a clause in his loan contract, and a possible change in formation, Ziganda stated that "I don't like those clauses. When a player is loaned out, he is loaned out. It's a long season and this match won't determine the situation the two sides end up in. Nahuel is an important player who gives us a lot, but now we will have to look at how to alter it. We haven't made a decision yet."