Pako Ayestarán: "We will work our way out of this situation"

Basque manager Pako Ayestarán, analysed the match, saying "the team were good tonight, but their first goal affected us emotionally". He pointed out that "in the last third we had chances to score and we didn’t take them". Referring to his team’s play and their physical condition, Ayestarán said: "we can both improve our game and our physical fitness, and this will take weeks of work".

In terms of the game’s importance, he said: "we don’t consider it to have been like a cup final, it was an important game yes, but just like any other". He staunchly defended the starting line-up he put out for tonight’s match, saying "we don’t make changes in a situation like this, we put out the players who can put in the strongest performance".

He sent out a clear message to the fans, "I apologise for the result, but we will continue to work hard" while he was also self-critical. "I can understand why the fans whistle and boo the team, they have been frustrated for weeks now". On a more optimistic note he said "the recipe is for everyone to be convinced with what we are doing, and to work really hard” Pako Ayestarán concluded in the press room at the Estadio Gran Canaria.