José Luis Oltra: “In a playoff you start from scratch, with no margin for error”

Jose Luis Oltra (Valencia, 1969) is a coach with long trajectory on the benches and Second Division expert. Throughout his career he has achieved promotions with Levante, Tenerife y Deportivo. He has also faced a promotion playoff to First Division when he directed Córdoba. With Castellón he faced two promotion promotions to Segunda. He is currently the tenth coach con more games directed in the silver categorythat he is active is only surpassed by Pepe Mel.

How do you see this season’s promotion playoff?

My idea is that in a playoff you start from scratch, as if it were a final. There are no favourites, no margin for error. There are many factors that can cause it to fall from one side to the other. It is played with a lot of pressure. They are games in which you play with other external factors, beyond the usual ones, such as physical condition or the game model that each one may have. Although I think that the team that is most faithful to its style of play has a good chance of achieving the objective.

Can Eibar feel the blow of what happened in the last game of the regular phase?

You can influence and there is the character and the way you work with very little margin. but you have to get up and put your batteries to get the promotion. The blow is very strong, we must bear in mind that it comes from being in direct promotion all season and falling against the lower bottom and in added time it is hard.

How do you see one of the playoff games being a derby? Also, one he knows well as the canary.

Being a derby makes the match more special, it is the derby of derbies. I have experienced it from the bench and it is played for more than three points. You play for the pride of an island, but in this case, you also leave the eternal rival out of the promotion race. In this match the emotional factors multiply a lot.

After his departure from Fuenlabrada. What have you been doing these months?

I use the breaks to train, I like to take advantage of the time. I have seen a lot of Second Division football, I have also gone to see Quique Sánchez Flores’ training sessions at Getafe, and some sessions of the U-17 team.

This is how he sees the four teams that are going to fight for promotion

Eibar, the strong. “He will have to reset what happened. He has a goal with Stoichkov, one of the top scorers in the category, and good players up front like Llorente, Fran Sol or Blanco Leschuck and a very solid defense. A well-worked team. With a good squad and good coaching staff.

Tenerife, vital at home. “The key is going to be in the first game played at the Heliodoro Rodríguez. They are a team that concede very few goals and if they get a good result in the first game in front of their fans it could be important. In addition, they have the punch of Enric Galician”.

Las Palmas, in shape. “He has the most differential player: Jonathan Viera. He is decisive. A leader on and off the pitch. A very combinative team and he arrives in a good moment of form with a streak of 11 games in a row without losing. He has won both derbies this season” .

Girona comes to more. “A very defined team due to the coach’s style. They are coming from less to more, they started hesitantly, but they have had a great second round. They have Stuani, one of the top scorers, and a very good second line. A strong defense and a goalkeeper very experienced.”