Quique S.Flores: 'We have the squad ready to play this match”
“We work better when we don’t look at the numbers”
Quique Sánchez Flores is aware of the importance of the game against Levante for trying to earn a spot in a European competition next season and doesn’t want his players to let up. The manager stated that “we want to play a good match against a team that has already reached its goal. They’re the third best team in the second half of the season and that speaks about their current form. We’re going to try and play a good game for ourselves and for our supporters. We don’t have a thorn in our side from the first round game. We want to be competitive. It’s true that it seemed like the word was going to end that day, but in the world of football life goes on. You have to be strong enough to pick yourself back up. We want to show that we’re not the same team, that we’re different.”
Regarding the current form of Levante, Quique explained that “they’re free of pressure. I know what they’re feeling, as I went through it seven years ago with Getafe. It’s a motivated group, without pressure and with confidence. The only thing that they’re going to try and do is bring out their good form to shine. To confront that, we have to take precaution. But I see my players as being joyous, happy in their work and committed.
“I’ve always said that the team has had a tough time when given long-term goals. They get confused, spread out and are unable to achieve the closest goal. For that reason, we have to go match to match. Now we have Levante. We work better without looking at the numbers. Our performance has to be focused on the next game,” he asserted.
The ‘rojiblanco’ head coach doesn’t want to lend too much importance to the absences from the team and assured that “we have a good enough squad to face the match. They’re all ready to play on Saturday. They know the system and have been training hard all year and know how our scheme works. Juanfran played very well in Pamplona and Elías has always responded whenever he plays. Raúl García is used to the system. We would be surprised if he played a great game.”
The Atleti manager also wanted to make it clear that “when everything is going well, it isn’t very convenient to change. We’ve gotten good results in the last nine games and have played well. This isn’t the time to invent new things. The players adapt to the system and we’ll play with the same formation. We’re not going to send confusing messages to the team with six matches left.”
Regarding the current form of Levante, Quique explained that “they’re free of pressure. I know what they’re feeling, as I went through it seven years ago with Getafe. It’s a motivated group, without pressure and with confidence. The only thing that they’re going to try and do is bring out their good form to shine. To confront that, we have to take precaution. But I see my players as being joyous, happy in their work and committed.
“I’ve always said that the team has had a tough time when given long-term goals. They get confused, spread out and are unable to achieve the closest goal. For that reason, we have to go match to match. Now we have Levante. We work better without looking at the numbers. Our performance has to be focused on the next game,” he asserted.
The ‘rojiblanco’ head coach doesn’t want to lend too much importance to the absences from the team and assured that “we have a good enough squad to face the match. They’re all ready to play on Saturday. They know the system and have been training hard all year and know how our scheme works. Juanfran played very well in Pamplona and Elías has always responded whenever he plays. Raúl García is used to the system. We would be surprised if he played a great game.”
The Atleti manager also wanted to make it clear that “when everything is going well, it isn’t very convenient to change. We’ve gotten good results in the last nine games and have played well. This isn’t the time to invent new things. The players adapt to the system and we’ll play with the same formation. We’re not going to send confusing messages to the team with six matches left.”
