Tiago: 'We have to try and get the win against Bayer and hope”
“We have to be consistent all game and keep a clean sheet”
Tiago, like the rest of the ‘rojiblanco’ squad members, isn’t giving up hope of passing through to the next round of the Europa League. The central midfielder stated that “we have the same number of points as Aris. We’re heading to Germany with the idea of winning the match, although we know that we don’t depend on ourselves to qualify, but the Greek side has to beat Rosenborg. We have nothing to lose. We’re sitting third and for that reason I think that it’s easy to get mentally prepared for the fixture against the Germans. We played poorly against Aris, but now we have to try and get the win and hope.”
The Portuguese player tried to explain the path of the team during the season and said that “I think that we’ve had poor moments in the games. We played a good first half against Aris, but then we dropped off in the second half. The same thing happened against Deportivo. We lost easy balls in the midfield and blamed it on over-confidence. The Greek squad scored a goal on us and came back from behind. Fortunately, Deportivo didn’t score any goals and we were able to win. We have to be consistent all match long.”
With respect to the meetings held by the ‘rojiblanco’ squad to try and straighten things out, Tiago pointed out that “we always break down the games with the manager. We’ve also spoken about the clash with Deportivo. These things are normal. Everything’s more difficult when you lose… the day-to-day, getting along together, dealing with the coach, etc… However, everything’s easier when you win. Keeping a clean sheet is always important. It gives the group confidence, even at home. We were coming off two matches in our home stadium in which we’d conceded six goals, and that’s not normal. We’ve gotten better.”
Regarding the rumoured departure of Simão from Atlético, Tiago assured that “I don’t know anything about his future. His contract finishes at the end of the season. It’s the player’s and the Club’s concern. He’s my friend and I’m not going to give anything away.”
The Portuguese player tried to explain the path of the team during the season and said that “I think that we’ve had poor moments in the games. We played a good first half against Aris, but then we dropped off in the second half. The same thing happened against Deportivo. We lost easy balls in the midfield and blamed it on over-confidence. The Greek squad scored a goal on us and came back from behind. Fortunately, Deportivo didn’t score any goals and we were able to win. We have to be consistent all match long.”
With respect to the meetings held by the ‘rojiblanco’ squad to try and straighten things out, Tiago pointed out that “we always break down the games with the manager. We’ve also spoken about the clash with Deportivo. These things are normal. Everything’s more difficult when you lose… the day-to-day, getting along together, dealing with the coach, etc… However, everything’s easier when you win. Keeping a clean sheet is always important. It gives the group confidence, even at home. We were coming off two matches in our home stadium in which we’d conceded six goals, and that’s not normal. We’ve gotten better.”
Regarding the rumoured departure of Simão from Atlético, Tiago assured that “I don’t know anything about his future. His contract finishes at the end of the season. It’s the player’s and the Club’s concern. He’s my friend and I’m not going to give anything away.”
