Fran Mérida: 'We’re going to leave it all on the field in Germany to get the win”
“If you’re capable, then you’re capable of passing through to the next round”
Fran Mérida acknowledged that last Saturday’s victory over Deportivo boosted the team morale and confidence and allows them to go into the Europa League clash against Europa League in top form. “After an erratic week the win over the side from Galicia was good for us. Now we have a very important match. We’re going to fight until the last minute to win. We hope that Rosenborg helps us out. We don’t depend on ourselves, but we have to win. We’re going to leave it all on the field in Germany to get the victory,” he stated.
The ‘rojiblanco’ central midfielder isn’t thinking about being eliminated and assured that “we have a clear goal in league play, which is to finish in the top four. The team is capable of passing through to the next round, and we won’t give up until the match is over. We have confidence in ourselves, we have the same number of points as Aris and anything can happen in football. It’s not in our hands, but we have hopes.”
Regarding the possibility that Simão might be leaving Atleti during the winter signing period, Fran explained that “I’m not the one to speak about that. He’s a great player and contributes a lot to the team. If he leaves, I wish him lots of luck, but it’s his and the Club’s business.”
The player wanted to make it clear that the squad isn’t affected by the possible signings and departures, as “we have too big of a commitment to think about that. We have to move ahead with the three matches that are left before the break. If they have to make signings, they’ll do it, but we’re focused on what we have to do.”
Fran Mérida also had time to assess his season and assured that “one always wants to play, but I’m calm, I'm continuing to work hard and I know that the manager has confidence in me. I try to play well in the minutes I get and contribute as much as I can. There’s lots of competition, I’m going to continue working as hard as I can, and there are players who can play on the wing. One always thinks that they’re going to play but then it’s something that the coach controls, and I respect his decisions. When I’ve played, my teammates have respected the manager’s decision and now that I’m not playing as much I have to respect it as well. All of us together can achieve the goals that we’ve set for ourselves.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ central midfielder isn’t thinking about being eliminated and assured that “we have a clear goal in league play, which is to finish in the top four. The team is capable of passing through to the next round, and we won’t give up until the match is over. We have confidence in ourselves, we have the same number of points as Aris and anything can happen in football. It’s not in our hands, but we have hopes.”
Regarding the possibility that Simão might be leaving Atleti during the winter signing period, Fran explained that “I’m not the one to speak about that. He’s a great player and contributes a lot to the team. If he leaves, I wish him lots of luck, but it’s his and the Club’s business.”
The player wanted to make it clear that the squad isn’t affected by the possible signings and departures, as “we have too big of a commitment to think about that. We have to move ahead with the three matches that are left before the break. If they have to make signings, they’ll do it, but we’re focused on what we have to do.”
Fran Mérida also had time to assess his season and assured that “one always wants to play, but I’m calm, I'm continuing to work hard and I know that the manager has confidence in me. I try to play well in the minutes I get and contribute as much as I can. There’s lots of competition, I’m going to continue working as hard as I can, and there are players who can play on the wing. One always thinks that they’re going to play but then it’s something that the coach controls, and I respect his decisions. When I’ve played, my teammates have respected the manager’s decision and now that I’m not playing as much I have to respect it as well. All of us together can achieve the goals that we’ve set for ourselves.”