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González: “We have to get back to competing the way we should”

The coach's post-match press conference

Following the defeat to Elche, Manolo González gave an honest assessment of his feelings in his post-match press conference.

“We had a terrible game. The Elche sending-off put us in a favourable position, but we didn’t do anything well. We apologise to the fans. We have things to correct. We’re defending poorly in transitions and in duels. Elche hit us on the counterattack despite being a man down. We have to rediscover our competitive edge. We have to get back to being a team that runs and presses,” he said.

The coach insisted that “we urgently need to change our mindset; the responsibility is mine. We have to get back to competing the way we should: staying switched on during the game, winning duels and collecting second balls. I’m very clear about where we’re going wrong. We have to attack better, but we also need to play at a different tempo and stop conceding from transitions.”

Finally, he said that the international break must be used to turn the situation around.

“These 21 days without a game have to be used to get the team back to the level it should be at. We have to turn things around, work hard and put things right immediately.”