Kirian Rodríguez addressed the media in the press room to analyze the match against RC Deportivo, corresponding to the last round of LALIGA HYPERMOTION. He stated, “We face the last match with great enthusiasm. Yesterday, I remembered that it has been a year since the autotransplant that changed our lives, and things are seen from a different perspective. Until last week, we had the option to achieve direct promotion, but now we can secure the playoffs and continue fighting for the First Division. I am very eager for the match to arrive so we can keep fighting for the goal.”

 

These were some of his statements:

 

“Dépor is going to play to win, like all teams. They will want to be champions; there is no greater respect for the competition and the rivals than playing every match as if something were at stake.”

 

“What is in our hands is what depends on us. The goal at this stage is promotion, and we are still in time to achieve it by competing in the playoffs.”

 

“There are matches and matches. We have to stay focused. This is about it hurting us, having heart and blood, making it clear that we have a very clear goal and we want to achieve it.”

 

“Life goes on, but from my point of view, knowing the group, not achieving promotion would be a failure. My personal goal is to return UD Las Palmas to the First Division.”

 

“This weekend, as in all others, the sense of belonging is what we have tried to convey to the group. This match, which is the most important of all, we will try to ensure that everyone is engaged to give back what they have given us throughout the season.”

 

“This is not pressure. It’s something incredibly fun; everyone becomes a footballer to play these kinds of matches. I have an incredible sense of excitement.”

 

“After what happened over the weekend, the thought of playing a playoff has been more on my mind than promotion. Because I have never been promoted through a playoff, and I think it would be beautiful to do it that way, in a two-legged final, seeing us win the match in that manner. The previous promotion didn’t come to mind, but rather the desire to show that promotion through the playoffs is also possible.”

 

“The fans are sovereign; they may have an outside perspective that we are not giving them what they need… I think that after the weekend’s match, we will all be united.”

 

“For me, it’s a final because now it really is the last match. If you succeed, you get into two more.”

 

“In the playoffs, we all have to step up; it’s a completely different competition. We will have to be more compact and tougher in both areas.”

 

“I don’t know if it’s perhaps a symptom of the gameplay, of the results achieved at home… I think it might be the symptom of coldness we’ve had between us, but I know that when the fans push, the team has a fluidity on the field that makes everything flow naturally.”

 

“I would say that in recent weeks, I’m at 80 or 90% of my optimal physical condition. I’m feeling freer, and that comes from competing. I think it’s even noticeable that physically there has been a significant change.”

 

“There’s no one like Viera. He is inimitable and unreachable.”