Bordalás: "It was not in our plans to lose this game, and we are already thinking about winning the next one"

Valencia CF coach José Bordalás reviewed the 1-2 defeat to RCD Espanyol in his post-match press conference.

What is your assessment of the game? Do you think the refereeing hurt the team?

I'm not going to comment on the refereeing. I haven't been able to see the penalty yet, but Hugo Duro tells me that the attacker hit him from behind. I cannot comment. We were left with a very bad feeling after the game, as we lost three points after controlling the game with the score at 1-0. We scored the goal, we thought we had things under control and we lacked authority. We should have been able to handle the final minutes and we didn't. We gave Espanyol a chance, and the points got away. Even so, we had two chances, hitting the crossbar and Maxi's shot. It is a pity. Today we had high hopes of getting all three points.

Were two days enough to prepare for the game?

Yes, of course. Throughout the season we have matchdays during the week and you also have little time to prepare for them. It has been more than enough. We knew the opposition and how they play. I think we did well for a large part of the game, but we lacked authority.

When you arrived at Valencia CF, would you have taken a situation like this?

I don't set long-term goals for myself, I said that the first day I arrived. We work to score the highest number of points. I said that the competition would show where we should be. Today we had numerous players out, and we had problems. Thierry played again after 70 days out, Piccini had just had Covid-19, Jesús Vázquez couldn't last 90 minutes, and we had a kid with little experience like Koba who was also coming off the flu. These are not excuses, but the team try everything we can and we will go as far as we can. We have taken a step back; it was not in our plans to lose, but we are already thinking about the cup game.

It is not the first time that you have complained of a lack of authority. How do you work on that?

It is very difficult. You either have it or you don't. Experience, character and personality give it to you. I'm not going to question the referee's performance, but when we committed a foul the opposition grabbed their feet, they went to ground... and my teams get labelled as rough. It is normal that we are the team with the most fouls, as the referee blows for everything that we do, day after day.

It is not a criticism, and they know it. I tell them. We had to react after the second goal. We have to be aware that the match lasts 94 minutes and we cannot lower our level of attention. We can't get over-confident in any way, because the opposition are good and if you concede they will beat you. The team are committed and give absolutely everything.

Have you asked for transfers to be made before the end of the winter window?

I have had meetings with the sporting management and with the president. I have transmitted our needs and it isn't down to me. The club know the needs of the team. It is important that the player feels that he has competition, that he may lose his position. The player who knows that he is going to play, whatever the case, doesn't have the same performance. We must improve that.

Do you think it is realistic to think about the Champions League?
I have always been a very realistic person, I have kept my feet on the ground and I have not fallen into any kind of euphoria. Today the team gave our all and didn't get the win. It has happened to us several times; we worked from the beginning of the year to improve last season's numbers, but we are conceding many goals and it is a real problem.