Marcelino: “Winning is the best way of avoiding a surprise”

Valencia CF coach Marcelino knows that his side have an advantage going into their second leg against Villarreal in the UEFA Europa League quarter final, but in his Wednesday press conference he ruled out his side defending their lead.

Possible rotations

“We have the tie in our favour with a very good result, which we would all have taken if it had been offered to us beforehand. However, the difference between having the result in our favour and having the tie sewn up is that there are 90 minutes to go. We can’t -and we shouldn’t- get overconfident. We had a 0-2 result from Celtic Park earlier in the competition, and we suffered in the first half here. In any situation in which the opposition go ahead, doubts can creep into your mind. We have to avoid that by giving the game our full attention.

“We will continue making rotations, as we can’t play every game that remains with the same players. Besides, we believe in the entire squad and the players back this up with their performances. We will try to use everyone in this final stage of the competition, aware that we need to perform at our best in order to achieve our goals.”

Game number 52 of the season

“We can’t get overconfident (even though no result from this season would eliminate Valencia CF). We want to win, which is the best way of avoiding any surprise. We want the players to enjoy themselves on the pitch and have the utmost motivation. We can’t have the idea in our heads of running down the clock, just because the result would see us through. That isn’t the right mentality and we should avoid that situation. Winning gives us confidence and winning increases your expectations for everything.”

Convincing fans to come to Mestalla for the game

“They have to convince themselves, but for us the most important thing is that the team need the support of the fans. There is a lot of effort, ambition and excitement and the possibility -which is close but not consummated just yet- of playing in the Europa League semi-finals, when we have already got through to the Copa del Rey final. We are going to have moments of difficulty in every game, because of how competitive everything is and because of the accumulated effort made. I hope that a lot of people come to Mestalla, and that they support the Valencia CF players from the first minute to the 90th.”