Quique Flores: 'We know what matches against Madrid mean to our fans”
The coach lamented having one day of rest less than their opponent
Quique Sánchez Flores acknowledged at his press conference that he knows that his team isn’t going through their best moment but, in spite of that commented that “we’re working hard for the stormy weather to pass. We won a complicated match against a tough opponent. We’re not in fine form and we have to take care of our players. I see the future with the players being calmer and with optimism. They’re better players than they seem and they’ll surely regain their confidence.”
Regarding the game played by his team, Quique stated that “if we hadn’t won, the team would have dragged along a slight depression. Now we’re looking forward to Thursday’s match confidently. It’s going to be a match that nobody is going to want to miss. We know what matches against Real Madrid mean to our fans and our players. It’s more than just qualifying for the semi-finals. We understand the message from the supporters in the final minutes. However, I think that Atlético de Madrid has been disrespected, as we have one less day of rest than our opponents. We didn’t like having to play on Monday and then get less time off.
“Elías has to get to know the squad and its players. It’s not easy to play in the best league in the world and we have to give him time. With respect to Fran Mérida, he played a great game. He feels good in the attacking centre midfield. He made a great effort and you have to value that. But we have to be patient, as he’s only 20 years-old. His best time is yet to come. We have to wait and look after him,” he asserted.
Atlético de Madrid wrapped up the first round of league play with 30 points. Quique believes that “Beyond the turmoil, we’re missing four or five points. We’d be happier with those points, but now we’re in a good position to face the second round and try to accomplish our goal. We know we’re not at our best right now, but we’ll move forward like we did last season. We’re in that group of possible teams that are fighting for Champions spots. Now our direct rivals will come to our stadium. We’ll have to earn around 40 more points to clinch a Champions spot.'
Concerning the Cup return leg, Quique Sánchez Flores finished things up by highlighting that “We’ll have to go out to play and score early. We know that this is maximum difficulty, but I have the utmost confidence in my players and in our supporters. I’m just sorry that they didn’t show Atlético much respect by making us play on Monday. We’ll have to try to overcome that difficulty.”
Regarding the game played by his team, Quique stated that “if we hadn’t won, the team would have dragged along a slight depression. Now we’re looking forward to Thursday’s match confidently. It’s going to be a match that nobody is going to want to miss. We know what matches against Real Madrid mean to our fans and our players. It’s more than just qualifying for the semi-finals. We understand the message from the supporters in the final minutes. However, I think that Atlético de Madrid has been disrespected, as we have one less day of rest than our opponents. We didn’t like having to play on Monday and then get less time off.
“Elías has to get to know the squad and its players. It’s not easy to play in the best league in the world and we have to give him time. With respect to Fran Mérida, he played a great game. He feels good in the attacking centre midfield. He made a great effort and you have to value that. But we have to be patient, as he’s only 20 years-old. His best time is yet to come. We have to wait and look after him,” he asserted.
Atlético de Madrid wrapped up the first round of league play with 30 points. Quique believes that “Beyond the turmoil, we’re missing four or five points. We’d be happier with those points, but now we’re in a good position to face the second round and try to accomplish our goal. We know we’re not at our best right now, but we’ll move forward like we did last season. We’re in that group of possible teams that are fighting for Champions spots. Now our direct rivals will come to our stadium. We’ll have to earn around 40 more points to clinch a Champions spot.'
Concerning the Cup return leg, Quique Sánchez Flores finished things up by highlighting that “We’ll have to go out to play and score early. We know that this is maximum difficulty, but I have the utmost confidence in my players and in our supporters. I’m just sorry that they didn’t show Atlético much respect by making us play on Monday. We’ll have to try to overcome that difficulty.”
