Diego Martínez: "Real Betis is one of the best teams in La Liga right now, and we'll need to be at our best to win."
The UD Las Palmas coach stated in a press conference, "We know we need to win, and we want to. There are twelve matches left, and we're entering the final stretch with everything still to play for. That in itself should be motivation."
Diego Martínez spoke to the media at the Ciudad Deportiva on Friday, ahead of the penultimate training session before their match against Real Betis. The yellow team's coach emphasized, "Football is all about fighting, working hard, and winning matches... it's true that we're on a negative run, but I have no doubt that we all believe we can win."
Here are some of his key comments:
"Young players like Essugo, who has great talent, will inevitably make mistakes. Being young means you have to pay your dues. It wouldn't be fair to criticize a player who's so committed. In his case, the lack of continuity due to suspensions and injuries meant he played just two matches in a month, after training only two days. That's a huge commitment. Even the best teams in the world go through that, and maybe now is when we need to support him the most."
"We've been solid in both boxes, and we improved a lot in November and December, and we want to return to that level. We're ready, we need to adapt, and self-criticism is part of our daily routine. We also practice positive self-criticism to maintain the good things we're doing."
"It's very unlikely Mika Mármol will make it. We'll try to get Marvin back, he’s cutting it close, but there’s a chance."
"Against Real Valladolid, the first 25 minutes were very good. After the red card, the game changed, and that's a reality. We started the second half well. We played 75 minutes with one man down. We wanted to win, and the team did a great job reorganizing."