Baraja: “I’m hoping for a response from the team to improve results”  

Rubén Baraja talked to the media before Matchday 3 in LaLiga, in which Valencia CF take on Athletic Club at San Mamés.

Understanding how to compete

In terms of learning to compete, this team is capable of doing that. We work hard on this type of thing on a daily basis. By believing in what we do, we can carry it over to the games and that will bring us closer to the possibility of being competitive and being able to score points. I am confident that we can do it tomorrow at a very difficult ground to go to, and I hope for a response to the results that we experienced in the opening two games.

Concern over the calendar

We should never be afraid. We have to try to focus on the things we haven't been doing well. This is what makes the difference for us to be at our true level and be recognisable. The other day we weren't at that level and RC Celta were the better side. We have another opportunity now, a different match in which, after our analysis, we have to try to do many things better than we did the other day. It's about analysing, correcting, working and carrying things over into the match, which is where things aren’t coming through. Our job is to focus on what we weren't doing well and improve that.

The transfer market

The window is still open, and the feeling right now is that there could be some changes, some players leaving and another coming in, but I don't expect many operations.

If a player leaves, another will come to replace him. We consider that to be fundamental in order to complete a squad with two players per position, three goalkeepers and Diakhaby, who is recovering from an injury.

Fran Pérez and Sergi Canós

Sergi is doing better. He is progressing well, he feels good and we will see if he can be ready against Villarreal. Fran is getting better every day; he is not with the group yet and we are going to be positive in the sense that he can recover after the international break. There is some improvement and we have to wait a little longer.

A possible departure for Cenk

A move for Cenk is an open option, but no one is going to leave here if we don't have the possibility of another player coming with different characteristics than his.

Mamardashvili staying for a year

For us, the most positive thing is that he can play for us this year. The club have made a great sale that was necessary, and we still have Giorgi, who will compete with Dimitrievski and Jaume to be decisive. Not just in Valencia CF, but at every club, if there is a situation in which a player has interest and there is an operation with a sum that obliges a sale, we have to adapt.

Improvements from the game against Celta Vigo

I always refer to the game and what we saw in the match. We have to do many things well to be competitive, and we didn’t play well. We did not understand how we had to press and stick together, so we allowed RC Celta to be very dangerous in counterattack situations… We gave them the chance to overpower us. I focus my analysis on the match we just played. My team and my players are capable of doing things well, of getting into matches, and we are insisting on that. There is nothing more to do than to correct the things we have not done well and improve. That is the objective I set for myself: To get closer to what we want to be, to our identity.

Other teams coming back from behind

We got ahead and these situations happened very quickly. You go in front and the opposition tie the game… It's something we have to correct, knowing that when we manage to score a goal it’s something that you have to preserve. Going through these types of situations should help us so that it doesn't happen again. My job is to focus, correct mistakes and improve for the next game..

Luis Rioja’s first game

He arrives in Valencia, signs, gets on a plane without training and then had to participate. The situation with the injuries forced us to do this. He is a player who has to give us substance and immediate performance, find his bearings, arrive here, take on the ideas, feel important and contribute. I think that with his work and his knowledge of the left wing position, he can help us a lot.

Athletic Club

We don't know if Nico Williams will be there or not, and for them he is a key player. What we do know is that Athletic Club will compete well and they are very dangerous. Last season we had a good game there, but what happened before does not mean that we can reproduce it again. It will depend a lot on us, on our performance. We must not be afraid of anything, and even less so when we are talking about a football match. They are great opponents and you have to have respect them, but our players face the match with the confidence that we can do things well. Athletic will make it very difficult for us and we will give a response that is equal to the difficulty we are experiencing.

A possible change of formation

The amount of goals conceded is bad. It has to make us reflect. We have to defend well, be consistent and have good defensive work. It’s something that we have to improve. We have to achieve a better defensive character than in these two games and do that with hard work and effort. We have to defend collectively.. If you don't concede, you have more chances of getting points and winning games. It's clear that we can achieve it. We have to improve in this, as it's one of the keys to improving in other aspects.

We have a lot of work to do. We have to recover aspects of our play in which we can improve, and this is what I am focused on. I am transmitting to my players situations in which we can improve to overcome this difficult moment, and I hope that the fans support us. They have to see that we are responding to what we have seen in recent games..

Rotations in a busy week

I have to look for the best option in terms of performance from the squad. I have total confidence in everyone, but if it doesn't work out then I have to look for better performance. I don't like to invent things nor try to be a different coach. I like to put everyone in their position. The situations that arise lead you to modify, but within the limits of what we have, in moments of difficulty our performance has to improve. Everyone wants to participate and contribute and I have to give opportunities; football is a bit like that.