Diego Martínez: “I’m convinced we’re going to achieve it”
The yellow team's coach emphasized ahead of the match against Valencia: “We need to bring all our enthusiasm, excitement, and positive energy to win a difficult but also very exciting match.”
Diego Martínez spoke at a press conference this Friday before facing Valencia CF tomorrow at the Estadio Gran Canaria. “Valencia is always a very strong opponent in La Liga, and in recent months they’ve been in a very confident phase,” he said about the visitors.
Here are some of his remarks:
“Our main virtue tomorrow will be to score at least one more goal. Of course, we would have preferred to be 40 points above the relegation zone, but that’s something for Real Madrid or Barcelona—that’s not our reality. But this is what we wanted: to arrive at the last five matches alive, with our people, and with all our chances intact.”
“We need everyone, for everyone to be present. There's no time now for nostalgia or longing. We are who we are, and we’ve always faced all circumstances as a team—and we will do the same this time.”
“We must respect the honesty of the referees. And also believe in everyone’s honesty. We may or may not agree with a decision in a match. But we cannot subject referees to extra pressure like we’ve seen in recent weeks before the Copa del Rey final. That can’t happen—it’s not good for football, for our children, or for society. We’re all human and have feelings; this goes beyond the professional. We must be very careful with this.”
“What UD Las Palmas has done in the last three matches deserves a lot of credit—earning points and playing at a high level. That gives me confidence. And above all, with our fans, we need to be more than just a team. When the crowd competes, we have to take advantage of it. The whole island wants to win points and achieve the goal.”
“When I arrived, Januzaj was a starter, but then he got injured. This is a living organism. Januzaj has now played as many matches with Las Palmas as he did in the past three years with his previous teams. He’s a guy who helps us a lot—we believe in him, but we need to take care of him. We want him to be available and give us quality minutes as much as he can. He’s making a big effort to contribute.”