Sandoval: “Fortunately, we can still improve more”

He Madrid coach (Humanes, 05-02-1968) directs a Fuenlabrada undefeated and with great sensations. However, the technician of the revelation team in Second asks “prudence”.

In the Fuenlabrada already they don't even remember of the nightmare that was the trip to A Coruña to face Depor on the last day of the previous season. He architect of this oblivion is your technician, Sandoval, that has been able to give continuity to the grand finale of the previous season, placing the team currently in the playoff zone.

The team started like a shot, what are the reasons?

I think that all of us who make up Fuenlabrada have managed to fit in perfectly and that has generated very positive synergies. In this way, we have been able to give continuity to what happened last year. If you add to that the arrival of players 100% involved with the idea of ​​this club, the mix is ​​a Michelin star. If you have footballers convinced and willing to defend the idea of ​​the club, it is easier.

There will be bad times.

Of course and, in fact, we work more there, but there may be doubts even now when everything is going great. If we see that something fails, the entire coaching staff gets to work on it. We are true nonconformists. This is transmitted to the players in a close way that facilitates, first, the understanding and, second, that they buy the message. We mark a few challenges that players can and should reach.

However, these weekly challenges can create some stress for the player..

Clear. That's why we set goals for ourselves in periods of five games. We see what those five games are like, who we are up against and the state of the team. All in all, we set the goals for that 'mini-stage' and then we already evaluate objectives. In addition, we are clear that there will be phases in which the lean cows and errors will come, but that is normal and we assume it. However, it is mandatory that those points that are lost are recovered with work and effort.

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Does this generate a more competitive Fuenlabrada?

Evidently. So we can have 23 footballers plugged in each week with small goals. We do not want a Fuenlabrada A and a Fuenlabrada B. Everyone, from the one who has played all the minutes to the one who has not debuted, will feel a fundamental part when it comes to achieving the goals. Support, but also demand. There are two very hackneyed phrases in the world of football that are true at Fuenlabrada: “We prefer the courage to try to the cowardice of not doing it” and “One minute of quality is worth twice as much as ninety of walking around the green” .

So, closeness to the player is key in the way Fuenlabrada works.

We spend a lot of time talking to the footballer. To communicate with them and to see what things can be improved in relation to the previous game. However, I have learned that there is no use putting the blame for a loss or a draw on anyone. That does more harm than good to the footballer. You have to let the footballer breathe. Obviously, we analyze the previous game, but we let two days go by and always in key of what can be improved for the next match. I am one of those who believe that the state of mind influences the performance of the footballer. You have to allow the player to make mistakes so that they feel confident and want to dare. That is what we want to build in this squad: brave players.

Is it the same in the coaching staff?

Yes Yes. I want everyone, a coach, a physio or the gardener, to dare if it is to improve Fuenlabrada. For example, those of us who make up the coaching staff have a meeting before each training session in which we assess what has been done and what is going to be done. It is debated and there is no absolute truth. Sandoval has the singing voice, but behind it there is total support because it has been a group decision. All this way of working was established at the time of the pandemic. It is one of the few good things we get.

You have described yourself as a “nonconformist”, what would you hit a team that is undefeated?

Luckily, we have a lot of room for improvement, that's the best that could happen to us. We have not reached our limit to know that, from here on, everything will be the same or will decline. We didn't like how the team reacted in the second half against Castellón, for example. Obviously, we communicate it to our players and everyone, including them since they are 100% involved, we seek improvement. Saying this with the results we have is very easy because the player is motivated to see the table and wants more and more. When you're down, it's more complicated. Therefore, we must seize the moment.

Part of the fans seem to not be satisfied with just permanence.

I will not be the one to take away the illusion of the fans that there is nothing better for a club than to have the fans hooked, but we must be prudent.

Doesn't any of that illusion for promotion stick to you?

From the experience I have in this category, it is clear to me that no one rises or falls in the first month. Flattery is weak and prudence must come first. However, I am excited about the image that the team has given. The objective is to maintain the category and help the club to establish itself in professional football. From there, anything can happen and the fans are clear that this team is going to fight to the end for promotion, the playoff or direct promotion. The past campaign is true to my words. This team is as committed as the one three years ago, that of the promotion to Second.

If this dynamic continues, who knows …

I wish, but that would be next to impossible. Few teams have finished the leagues undefeated … What is clear is that the team's progress is more than positive and that if we stay like this we will be able to think about big things for May. However, in the short term, I would like us to reach December with 25 points or more.

Very tight weeks are coming and with many confrontations, a priori, complicated.

This is the part of the season, with the days Saturday-Tuesday, where you can see the true level of each team and how far they can go. We trust our work and the players, but I don't want the team to go into depression if we click. I prefer sensations to results. We are going to have a lot of reel between now and the end of the season. This category is like running a marathon: we have five very good kilometers, but there are 37 left.

Therefore, many faces of Fuenlabrada will be seen.

We want a chameleonic team that can adjust to the game and the rival without being too damaged. We are going to have the DNA of Fuenlabrada, direct and competitive football, but with variations, which is what we want.

What has been more important for this: already having a preseason with the club or the arrival of certain profiles?

Both equally. The sports management, which has done an exceptional job this summer, has given me the tools in the form of top players and my coaching staff and I are shaping them for our football. At the moment, things are going well although we cannot lose, as happened this last day or against Las Palmas, our ability to defend set pieces or close games.

Is the defensive level being affected by that offensive improvement?

Let's say there are times when we may get confused, but we must reach that point where both facets are equally empowered.

Míchel, coach of Huesca, said in an interview about you: “It is time that they see a project coach in Sandoval and not emergency situations.” Did you feel that way?

Yes, it is a situation that I have had in my career. It seemed that no one remembered that I led Rayo on a promotion and we signed a great season in First Division afterwards. It only existed to get teams out of certain situations. However, that experience that I have had as a coach has helped me to mature a lot and not only in the sports aspect. I have realized that what matters is the day to day, the noise from outside must be silenced and I want to transmit that to the player. The final minutes are as important as the initial minutes.

However, have you felt the confidence of Fuenlabrada from the first minute?

This season, with the confidence that the club has given me from minute one, we have been able to carry out our work and the results are being positive.

Hasn't this confidence been felt like this in other teams?

Exact. At Córdoba, after saving the team, I didn't continue because they didn't have that confidence in me and then they had to tell me about Seconds.

The end of last season was a nightmare for you, how did you experience it from the inside?

It was very hard, but I always say the same thing and I say it convinced: “A team entered that hotel and a family left.” There were a great number of moments that will always remain in the memory of those of us who were in that hotel. I remember the day we received the photos and images of the Fernando Torres stadium full of encouraging banners. That day something very nice was experienced because everything we went through was forgotten for a few moments and, come on, even those who had symptoms thought about playing the game. Another was the day Chico returned from the hospital, the applause from the balconies and at the door of each room showed that we were not a staff but a family.

And what was day to day like?

A madness that we could only get by with work and patience. At the end of each day, the president, the sports director, the coaching staff and the press would summarize what had happened that day and how we were going to work the next day. The footballers also did an exercise table that they gave part of at night. The communication was by WhatsApp group or by videoconferences. If we hadn't worked together, we wouldn't get it done.

Finally, do you think that an attempt was made to blame Fuenlabrada for the mistakes of others?

Yes. They thought that as this was a small club, they could do whatever they wanted due to external wars from the people above, but what has been done in the end is justice. Although with some delay, the whole world of football supported us in the face of the injustice that was tried to commit and that makes me very happy. We more than earned playing another season in the Second Division.

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