Celades: "The players deserve credit for their effort in a situation that wasn't easy"

Valencia CF go into the international break off back-to-back LaLiga wins, and Albert Celades gave his thoughts on the triumph against Deportivo Alavés in his post-match press conference.

A tough game
"On Wednesday we put in a very, very big effort -not just in terms of our football and fitness, but also mentally. We only had two days in which to recover from that huge effort. That shows, whether you like it or not. It's impossible that it wouldn't, with so little recovery time. I think we have to value the effort the players put in."

Diakhaby in midfield
"We struggled in the latter stages of the game, and we believed that Diakhaby could help us in the middle, with his energy and positioning. There were moments in the first half in which we didn't play well. We lost a few balls in the midfield that caused the opposition to punish us and hit on the counter. Simple passes, in theory, ithout too much pressure. It happened, but we brought on Diakhaby for that situation, to give us a little more stability and to stop us losing shape. That was the idea."

The atmosphere at Mestalla
"We respect the opinions of the fans. I would like to have an atmosphere like we had on Wednesday in the Champions League, and that everything was simpler, but we respect how the fans express their opinions and we are grateful to them. This doesn't just happen here; anywhere in which there isn't a good atmosphere, it affects the team.

"When we all push in the same direction, it's easier. The players are putting in a huge effort, we've been through some difficult weeks and I see no signs of the players giving up, because they haven't done so up to now."

The international break
"During the international break we will work with the players who are staying in Valencia, and try to improve things that we think will help in the future. I think you have to give credit to the fact that we've been through 3 or 4 very difficult weeks, and the players have put in a huge effort in a situation that wasn't at all easy. I think we have to value that. We go into the international break in a situation that isn't idyllic, but it isn't so bad -both in LaLiga and the Champions League. These next few days will help us, above all, to try to get the players who are injured back recoverd, and try to get them gradually back into the group. When we go into a situation like this off a hard fought victory, with a positive result, everything is easier."