Raúl García: 'We can’t let any more points escape from our stadium”
“The coach knows that he can count on me for whatever he wants”
Raúl García remains faithful to his principles and won’t speak about the number of points the team needs to earn in order to qualify for a European competition spot, although he assured that “the number stated by the President is a good one, to win 20 or 24 points that are left in the championship, but I don’t like to speak about points. I prefer to just focus on the team’s upcoming match, although I will say that we can’t slip up any more.”
Concerning which Real Sociedad side he expects to come up against this Sunday at the Vicente Calderón, Raúl pointed out that “they’re coming off a loss at home and will be very motivated; they’re going to try and regain those points at our cost. But we can’t let any more points escape from our stadium. Last Sunday’s win was a huge morale boost, because we hadn’t won in Pamplona in a long time and, above all, because we played really well.”
The Atlético de Madrid player knows that the team has to win its games at the Vicente Calderón and explained that “we have to come out victorious in our matches at home. Now, after winning in Pamplona, we have to make that victory stand up in our house.”
Raúl doesn’t think that Villarreal might feel the fatigue from playing in the Europa League as they head into the home stretch of league play. “The accumulation of matches can play an effect if the manager doesn’t use rotations, but I don’t think that will happen to them,” said the midfielder.
“I don’t pay attention to the games of our direct rivals for Europa League. The main thing we have to do is focus on our match and win it. If the other teams lose points, better, but never thinking about what any other team is doing,” he highlighted.
The central midfielder from Navarre has become a bit of an all-arounder for the squad, as he’s played in almost every midfield position. “I have no problem playing in any spot; I don’t care whether it’s on the right, left or centre. The important thing is to help the team improve. The coach knows he can count on me for whatever he wants,” he asserted.
Raúl Garcia preferred not to get into the discussion of whether or not Diego Costa should be a starter after his hat-trick last weekend and assured that “fortunately, I’m not the one who has to decide whether or not Diego Costa plays. He played well enough to play again on Sunday. Those who don’t usually play have to do exactly what Diego did in Pamplona the other day. From there, the manager is the one who has to decide who plays.”
To finish, Raúl spoke about the future of the team’s head coach, Quique Sánchez Flores. “Whether or not he’s going to continue is something that he has to discuss with the front office; he hasn’t told us anything. They’ll have to resolve that at the end of the season. For me, he’ll be the manager until at least the end of the season and there’s no need to think about it any more than that,” he concluded.
Concerning which Real Sociedad side he expects to come up against this Sunday at the Vicente Calderón, Raúl pointed out that “they’re coming off a loss at home and will be very motivated; they’re going to try and regain those points at our cost. But we can’t let any more points escape from our stadium. Last Sunday’s win was a huge morale boost, because we hadn’t won in Pamplona in a long time and, above all, because we played really well.”
The Atlético de Madrid player knows that the team has to win its games at the Vicente Calderón and explained that “we have to come out victorious in our matches at home. Now, after winning in Pamplona, we have to make that victory stand up in our house.”
Raúl doesn’t think that Villarreal might feel the fatigue from playing in the Europa League as they head into the home stretch of league play. “The accumulation of matches can play an effect if the manager doesn’t use rotations, but I don’t think that will happen to them,” said the midfielder.
“I don’t pay attention to the games of our direct rivals for Europa League. The main thing we have to do is focus on our match and win it. If the other teams lose points, better, but never thinking about what any other team is doing,” he highlighted.
The central midfielder from Navarre has become a bit of an all-arounder for the squad, as he’s played in almost every midfield position. “I have no problem playing in any spot; I don’t care whether it’s on the right, left or centre. The important thing is to help the team improve. The coach knows he can count on me for whatever he wants,” he asserted.
Raúl Garcia preferred not to get into the discussion of whether or not Diego Costa should be a starter after his hat-trick last weekend and assured that “fortunately, I’m not the one who has to decide whether or not Diego Costa plays. He played well enough to play again on Sunday. Those who don’t usually play have to do exactly what Diego did in Pamplona the other day. From there, the manager is the one who has to decide who plays.”
To finish, Raúl spoke about the future of the team’s head coach, Quique Sánchez Flores. “Whether or not he’s going to continue is something that he has to discuss with the front office; he hasn’t told us anything. They’ll have to resolve that at the end of the season. For me, he’ll be the manager until at least the end of the season and there’s no need to think about it any more than that,” he concluded.
