Ahead of the match against Deportivo Alavés, Valencia CF coach Albert Celades spoke in his pre-match press conference.

The need to win

It would be very good to win tomorrow and get to the international break with more points than we have now. It wouldn't be an extraordinary situation, but it wouldn't be bad either. We're focused on getting the win for the players and the fans. They deserve it, and we're focused on that objective for tomorrow. We want to go home tomorrow happy, and with the win.

Deportivo Alavés

We're going to be playing against a side with a very good defence and a coach who has worked very well on that organisation at the back at his previous clubs -and is doing it well again at Alavés. They are a side with good players, a clear structure in terms of their attack and who will demand the utmost of us tomorrow at Mestalla. We are aware of this and excited about the game,-because we still haven't got a win at home, and we want to do that -mainly because the players deserve it, and the fans as well. There was a magnificent atmosphere for the Champions League game, but the result wasn't what we wanted. We are excited about the chance to take that win at Mestalla."

Finding a balance between attack and defence

"It's obvious that we are conceding too many goals. It's more than we would like; we want and we need to improve, and we're working on it. We have also played very hard games without conceding a goal, like against Chelsea and Athletic Club. We need to improve the current situation, without a doubt. We are also scoring more, but the ideal thing is to find a balance between attack and defence, which is what is occupying our time right now."

Dani Parejo being left out of the Spain squad

"We understand that, regardless of him not being included in this round of call-ups, he is a fundamental and very important player for us. It's a luxury for us to have him with us because of how he plays and how he is. He is one of our captains and he is in the running, but we appreciate that the national team coach's job isn't easy. I'm sure that Parejo is on his mind."