Quique S. Flores: 'We want to change the story at Reyno de Navarra'
'Their team concept is different with Mendilibar'
Quique Sánchez Flores knows that his team has its European competition aspirations on the line in their visit to take on Osasuna at the Reyno de Navarra after the league break. The manager commented that “the team was feeling good and we’re trying to keep that going. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. The League break doesn’t affect me or hurt me as we go into an incredible tough match.”
The head coach knows that his team is facing the first of nine finals they have left in league play. “The championship is decided in the last ten games of La Liga. We just have to earn as many points as we can. We’re going to a difficult stadium in which Atlético de Madrid hasn’t earned good results. We want to change the story,” he assured.
Quique knows that one of the keys to the contest will lie in the mentality of his players from the opening kick-off. He therefore stated that “we have to be an aggressive team. We want to impose our style of play. We can’t come out to see what Osasuna does. At a minimum, we have to match them in aggressiveness and then we’ll see what happens.”
Atlético de Madrid won’t have Sergio Agüero due to suspension and Reyes could take his spot. The manager assured that “during the week, the players get an idea about where they might play. Unfortunately, we’ve missed Kun in many games and we all know what he means, statistically speaking, but we have players who can perform in that position.
“Juanfran is going to play against Osasuna. It’s an ideal game for him to gain confidence. We’ll see if he plays a good game, though he has more than enough quality and desire to do so,” he emphasized.
The ‘rojiblanco’ side has had several players out with their respective national teams the past week. In spite of that, Quique stated that “they disconnect from the team dynamic with their national sides; they can’t think about the weekend matches. Their priority is their national team, and it complicates things, although we’ve spoken with them all every day.”
Quique also spoke about the changes that he’s made in the squad and highlighted that “when a coach changes thing up it’s because he has to. I don’t see any manager change something that’s working just on a whim. I have two sources of information: training sessions and games, and I have to manage from those two aspects. I see the players every day.”
The manager of the ‘rojiblanco’ club hopes to break the team’s negative streak at the Reyno de Navarra and stressed that “we have to be focused. I want for my players to tell me after the match: ‘Coach, it wasn’t as hard as I though.’ That would mean that we performed well.”
Concerning the differences between Osasuna under Camacho and now under Mendilibar, Quique assured that “I hold Camacho in high regard as a coach and as a person. The team concept is different with Mendilibar. The group has reacted and changed the way they play. Now they try to play with the ball. He’s understood the group and they’ve reacted. Before, they played off second balls and now they’ve changed.”
The head coach knows that his team is facing the first of nine finals they have left in league play. “The championship is decided in the last ten games of La Liga. We just have to earn as many points as we can. We’re going to a difficult stadium in which Atlético de Madrid hasn’t earned good results. We want to change the story,” he assured.
Quique knows that one of the keys to the contest will lie in the mentality of his players from the opening kick-off. He therefore stated that “we have to be an aggressive team. We want to impose our style of play. We can’t come out to see what Osasuna does. At a minimum, we have to match them in aggressiveness and then we’ll see what happens.”
Atlético de Madrid won’t have Sergio Agüero due to suspension and Reyes could take his spot. The manager assured that “during the week, the players get an idea about where they might play. Unfortunately, we’ve missed Kun in many games and we all know what he means, statistically speaking, but we have players who can perform in that position.
“Juanfran is going to play against Osasuna. It’s an ideal game for him to gain confidence. We’ll see if he plays a good game, though he has more than enough quality and desire to do so,” he emphasized.
The ‘rojiblanco’ side has had several players out with their respective national teams the past week. In spite of that, Quique stated that “they disconnect from the team dynamic with their national sides; they can’t think about the weekend matches. Their priority is their national team, and it complicates things, although we’ve spoken with them all every day.”
Quique also spoke about the changes that he’s made in the squad and highlighted that “when a coach changes thing up it’s because he has to. I don’t see any manager change something that’s working just on a whim. I have two sources of information: training sessions and games, and I have to manage from those two aspects. I see the players every day.”
The manager of the ‘rojiblanco’ club hopes to break the team’s negative streak at the Reyno de Navarra and stressed that “we have to be focused. I want for my players to tell me after the match: ‘Coach, it wasn’t as hard as I though.’ That would mean that we performed well.”
Concerning the differences between Osasuna under Camacho and now under Mendilibar, Quique assured that “I hold Camacho in high regard as a coach and as a person. The team concept is different with Mendilibar. The group has reacted and changed the way they play. Now they try to play with the ball. He’s understood the group and they’ve reacted. Before, they played off second balls and now they’ve changed.”
