BARAJA: "IT WILL BE A HIGHLY DEMANDING GAME"

Valencia CF coach Rubén Baraja spoke before the LaLiga Matchday 22 game against Atletico Madrid, which takes place at 9 pm CET at the Cívitas Metropolitano.

“Yesterday he had an incident in training and will not be available for tomorrow. The medical report says he has a calf injury and we are going to have him out for a while.”

“It was important for him to make a decision as to whether he wanted to renew with the club or not. From there, it depends on the possibilities that arise, if he has an offer he likes or the possibility of stepping up a level and being important in a team of a higher level than VCF Mestalla. If he stays with us, the work he is doing to improve and grow, to help VCF Mestalla, is good for him. It is good that he plays every week and from there, we will evaluate him.”

“The message we send within the squad is to be competitive in each game, and what you do during the season will define your position in the table. Right now, we are in a good situation. We are closer to the top positions in the table than to those at the bottom. It doesn't mean anything yet, it's a path we must take and hopefully, at the end of the season, we can get to this situation. There are many games left and we have to work very hard. We are not giving up on anything, but we have to be consistent in knowing that it is difficult to maintain this pace of scoring points.”

“They have numbers that say it all about their potential. They are a very strong team. Last year they were far superior in every way. This has to be a sign of the great difficulty that we have tomorrow. It will depend on us being able to maintain a high level, be competitive and make them uncomfortable. When an opposing side haven't lost for so long, there is always a moment when that streak is broken. Atletico Madrid have many variants and decisive players. We have to be very precise and play very well. It is a highly demanding match and we have to go there to compete without any type of complex, as we have been doing up to now.

The day-to-day work has been very good, the atmosphere is very positive in the dressing room and in terms of what the players transmit. Even players who don't participate as much, have a good attitude. It is a dressing room with a very good atmosphere and the rest of this season should be a pleasant challenge; we are going to need everyone. Now we have various players injured and others at the AFCON, and we have to adapt and survive these situations.”

“This week we have focused on the match against Atletico Madrid. It is important not to waste energy on other things. I don't have specific information, there are 5 days left in the transfer window and anything can happen. The feeling I have is that there will be few movements.”

“He is an option who can play on the wing since he can go inside, he has speed on the counterattack, good inside play… Against Cádiz, he played on the right wing and the goal situation came from there. He is a versatile player. When you have players out, situations that don't have much of a solution, he can do that job for you.”

“Thinking about winning away there is always positive. But first, we have to think about how to do it. We have to compete well, we have a great team in every sense in front of us. It is a very difficult game and we accept the challenge it poses. We have to be close to perfection to be able to win there.”

“It's a pain because people had organised their travel for the game. It has taken away a little of our excitement for a nice game. But it is something that is out of our control. When these types of decisions are made, the consequences must be considered. People who already had their plans organised are suddenly being prevented from going because of a decision. There should be more sensitivity with these types of decisions."

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