Simeone: "The team is still competitive in all competitions"
Diego Pablo Simeone appeared before the media after practice on Saturday morning to talk about the match against Rayo Vallecano.
The coach said "I guess tomorrow will be a Rayo team that plays as always, they will not change the way they play against us, with a brave coach who offers a lot of pressure associated with the game. Last year they made it difficult in Vallecas. I imagine another game like we have been playing of late."
Regarding Jose Sosa, the January signing for Atletico, he said "hopefully he’ll continue to grow. He is finding it a little better as he gets to know his teammates better. But when he comes to play, tomorrow may be the day to prove on the field why we trust him. "
Asked about those player having fewer minutes in the squad, Simeone said that "when the season starts we talk to them and explain the situation so that there are no surprises because there is no commitment. I always think that when a player asks for more minutes it means you have to get someone else out. We have spoken about this and they know how I think. It is normal to have players wanting to play more. We believe in the collective and we will continue that way."
On Diego Costa and the pressure opponents place on him in each game he said "we think about Rayo. He is a key and important to the situation we have in the game. Costa worked fine the other day. I believe he has improved over previous games. Hopefully the goal will come for him and the team. And it will come as he’s in good form."
Lack of goals from Diego Costa does not worry the technician because "Falcao last year went through a similar streak of not scoring around this time in January. He went and returned to score. How many away from Ronaldo is he? Two or three? I do not think that he is so far behind the Golden Ball so he’s not doing bad."
