The coach of the Logroñés, Sergio Rodríguez, has assured this Tuesday that the match against the Majorca last Sunday was harder, really, due to the injuries of Roberto Santamaria Y David gonzalez, than for the four goals conceded.
Rodríguez, at the press conference prior to Wednesday's match against Ponferradina, stated that “there are games that hurt more because one is not up to the task or does not do things well” but the match against Mallorca “was highly conditioned “, he stated, referring to what happened in less than ten minutes, with a conceded goal and an expulsion” and the players who had minutes can be with a clear conscience. “
He stressed the importance of maintaining “a middle ground” both in victories and defeats because “the next day's work has to be the same to grow and to prepare for the games.”
“The team has its feet on the ground because it knows that the competition is very difficult and very long, and this, together with the fact that the matches are every three days, means that there is no room to think about Sunday, but only about Ponferradina ”, he stated.
He stressed that Ponferradina is a team that “chokes most of its rivals and is capable of competing on all types of terrain, with all teams and with all types of play.”
In addition, he has warned that their motivation will be “high” because they won and played a very good game against one of the strongest teams in the competition, Leganés, but “Logroñés will try to match that state of mind.”
The coach has confirmed that goalkeeper Roberto Santamaría and striker David González, both injured against Mallorca, are ruled out for this match against Ponferradina, while the rest of the players with discomfort “continue their process and their physical condition will be assessed.”
“This year is special due to the covid-19 pandemic and the calendar has been compressed in this first round, so the results are the injuries of the players,” he lamented.
The team, he has detailed, will play nine games in 20 or 25 days, which affects the level of play, the intensity and the health of the footballers, but “it is a special year” and he hopes that this will not be the trend in subsequent seasons .
He regretted that Andoni suffered an “unfortunate” match due to his expulsion four minutes into the match, so “you have to give him his space since it is a football issue that requires a couple of days to remove the bad milk”.
As for Rajiv van La Parra, he has detailed that “he is entering the team little by little although he comes without preseason and has not played for a long time, so you have to follow a progressive line to see his good level because if you put him in early it can be harmful to him. “
“You have to try to show his best version. Since he is a player who has not competed for a long time, he needs training and games, but the minutes cannot be given away because the team is playing a lot,” he concluded.