“Foulquier's departure only occurred when a substitute had almost closed”

Foulquier's march to Valencia. “Without Foulquier we lose several things, especially joy in the day to day because he was an exceptional kid, very integrated, and that is very important for me in the dynamics although it is not reflected in the results. He was well loved and made our training sessions more friendly and fun. In terms of football, he was in great shape and, among many things, he gave us his ability to shoot deep scores. I wished him luck, he was looking forward to taking that step in his career. This is football and in order to get out there had to be compensation for the club, because it was very important to us ”.

Circumstances of the Frenchman's departure. “His exit only occurred when a substitute for guarantees had almost closed. To let him out, we had to be clear that there would be a substitute and that there are also other players on the squad who can act there, such as Quini, Víctor Díaz and even Pepe (Sánchez). Foulquier's clause was much higher, but the transfer was accepted because the club had previously taken its steps, from the sports department to Patricia Rodríguez ”(councilor of the entity).

Can the substitute be Santiago Arias? “We try that all the changes we make to the squad are to improve it. But that will tell time and performance. A priori you cannot know, it is not good to enter into comparisons and put pressure. Foulquier gave a lot to the club in two stages, he was well liked and gave everything to the end. We hope that whoever comes will contribute the same or even something more ”.

Worry? “The only uncertainty I have between now and Tuesday is that someone will pay us a clause, which would be uncomfortable even if they contribute money to the club. We are prepared for these situations. We will negotiate when we want to negotiate and we will refer to the clause when we must. If they take away a player on the last day of the market, it will be because they pay us the clause or a very close amount ”.

Thinking about the next match. “The team really wants to compete again and score their first three points to go three at a time”

Rochina and Monchor. “Monchu is training with the mask and in principle it doesn't bother him, it's going well and he's available. Rochina too, although obviously he has not had collective training, but he was training hard on his own and is another player available in the squad for Sunday. I met Rochina when I was 17 years old and she scored five goals for me as a forward. Then he has been evolving towards the band and getting inside as a midfielder. He has matured in these years and in the clubs he has passed through and has learned to play other roles. We are going to use him in different positions depending on the needs we have and the rival, although I see him as extreme or inside, and even at the top ”.

Goal competition between Aaron and Maximino. “Meritocracy occurs from day to day, my decisions change during the week. Internal competition is expressed in training, not in competition. In my template design you can see that we will end the season doubting a lot who to put of the two. We want to raise the level with competence in all positions, it is the only way to achieve high performance from a person: that he feels that he can lose his position and feels the need to grow ”.

Thinking about the Lightning. “Against Sevilla, which is already a very difficult rival on an equal footing and against whom it was normal for them to lose, they expelled the goalkeeper very soon; against Real Sociedad, he played a game of great merit. The main danger of Rayo is that it rose when nobody expected it, with the positive inertia that this generates. We play in their field and I understand that they will be eager to give joy to the few fans that can attend. It is a difficult game against a team with footballers who have been playing together for some time; we have analyzed it well and we are aware of the difficulty “

No relaxation. “This squad is very aware of the difficulty of each game; In recent years he has faced all kinds of situations, in which he was superior and inferior. It is always difficult, the points are very expensive. This week, watching videos with a player, they told me that all the rivals in the First Division are complicated, that all the coaches work well tactically. There is no easy opponent and there will be no relaxation in my team ”.

The field. “I am worried about having excuses. The pitch will be the same for both teams, hopefully in the best possible conditions. We cannot control it and we will have to adapt to compete and try to win. It has the same dimensions as other stadiums, the official ones. That feeling of closeness is due to the stands, and without so many public it will not be so important. I know Vallecas well because I went every fifteen days as an analyst ten years ago, there I began my professional stage ”.

Team evolution. “We intend to consolidate what we are looking for at the level of the game, try to be more protagonists with the ball to make more chances and maintain defensive reliability. The team is getting rocky against the rivals “

The opponent's weapons to stop the ballor. “This facet is important in all matches and we dedicate a lot of time to it, in fact we have a fully dedicated person on the 'staff'. We also do well, we are as good at defending as Rayo attacking. In attack, against Valencia we had Germán's. We work and things work out because we have good pitchers and good spikers, which is the key. We do have to improve in the throw-ins, to be more protagonists and not lose so many balls. In the rest, I am happy ”.

FIFA virus. “All this is not a problem for me because I will do what the people above decide. Little can I say. There are conflicting situations: LaLiga is working to defend its interests, as does Conmebol. We will have to reach an intermediate point, it was long before it could be expected that it would end up exploding as it has done. Hopefully it is resolved as best as possible. It is clear that losing players is not good, but all the clubs that have South American footballers will be in the same situation ”.