Gattuso: “We hope that the team give the fans a fantastic night”

Valencia CF coach, Gennaro Gattuso, looked ahead to the game against Athletic Club at Mestalla in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.

Squad fitness

Hugo Duro trained today, so the only player who has problems is Thierry Correia. Kluivert went to the hospital and had an MRI done and it looks like he has no injury, but he hasn't trained. Tomorrow we will see how he is.

The kind of game he expects

Athletic Club play 4-2-3-1 and are very clear about what they have to do. They have a lot of pace and that can put us in difficulties. They are a team with experience, physically strong and also with a lot of speed. We have to do well in the defensive phase.

The fans at Mestalla

I don't expect anything from the fans, I only expect my team to have a good game, win and make the fans happy. On Monday, in incredibly cold conditions, there were 34,000 people in Mestalla. Whenever we have played at Mestalla it has been packed. I just have to say thank you to the fans. I hope the team give the fans a fantastic night.

Potential rotations

Today we trained very little because the recovery level was not at 100% for all of the players. I’m sure that we will try to change some things.

Cenk and Guillamón

With Hugo the matter is simple. He is an amazing kid with incredible intelligence. I have talked a lot with him in these past 3 weeks and he has done a lot of extra work. When he returned from his time with the national team he was not fit and had a little pain in his knee, meaning he couldn’t train well. I am calm about Hugo because he is an incredible player who likes to work. He will be an important player for us.

Cenk had an incredible game last time, but he made a mistake. That can happen, but the level he is playing at is very high. In the game the other day, he made an error only with that ball. That’s football, but he had a great game. He is somebody that everyone loves in the dressing room because he is always positive and likes to make a lot of jokes.

How to change the image

We have to look at the good things and the bad things we have done. The problem we have had in these past 4/5 months is that we have taken the lead 11 times and we have not been able to manage it. But we have to look at both the good and the bad. It's not all bad; we have to do things better when we're ahead, change our mentality, but it's not all negative on a technical-tactical level.

If you look at the table it makes you worry, but we don't have to think about that, we just have to work professionally and believe in what we do.

Excitement about the Copa del Rey

It is an important match, as all games are. Tomorrow is a Copa del Rey quarterfinal against a very brave team, and we have to give priority to the cup.

It’s normal that at this stage of the competition we have played two games and we have won both. In the league we are having a lot of difficulty, but a single elimination game is important. That is why the priority is the Copa del Rey.

The transfer market

I always respond the same way. We are waiting, just like the fans are waiting and I am also waiting. The club know that we are lacking a midfielder. From the first days that we talked about transfers, we have always also talked about numbers and Financial Fair Play.

I hope for players who give me the chance to improve the team. If we’re signing for signing’s sake, then we are fine as we are. We are looking for a midfielder who can play in all midfield positions.

We have talked about players at a good level, but who cannot be signed because of the numbers. If we look at a young kid who has quality and can play as I would like, I am open to everything, but he has to have the qualities that I want.

If the player who arrives is on the pace and has played matches, that's fine. If he hasn't played and we have to wait for him to pick up the rhythm, it’s too late. I care about the player's rhythm and if he is of a level that he can quickly understand things, but it is important that he has minutes in his legs.

If no player arrives I have to continue working, and that's that.

Demands on the team

I feel that the fans are angry and it’s normal, because we aren’t in a good position in the table. I already said the other day that the responsibility is mine because I am the coach and I have to accept it. But I only have one direction in which to go, because I see that the team are alive, how we train. If I were to see that the team didn't follow me, the best thing would be to go to the club and get them to change coach. But I see that the team are alive, they are training well and the feeling for me is positive. I haven't talked about this with the club, but it's normal for the club to not be happy with how the season is going.

The mentality in the squad

When I was a player and it was not a good time I looked at everything negatively, and at San Siro the ball and the shirt were heavy burdens.

The best thing is that the coaching staff and I be with them with positive words, correcting the mistakes as well, but the team want to get good results again.

It’s normal for there to be a bit of fear because it is part of life and sport. Only a madman wouldn't be worried at this point. But worry is often important because it makes you make one more run for your teammates, who might miss a pass. Fear is not only negative

The formation to use

I don't like 4-4-2 because when you don't have the ball the opposing team have many passing lanes. The last three games we have played this way because we have tried to do different things, but it can be changed. We have not defined that we will always play 4-4-2.

Risking less when bringing the ball out

When you start with 4/5 months talking about one thing, it's not easy to go to the team and tell them to do something completely different. It’s normal that we have to protect the team and see the things that we aren’t doing well, but my philosophy is clear and it’s difficult for me to do something that I do not have inside. I see football in a very clear way and I have a very clear style.

At this moment I have to put my ego aside, but a 100% change is not possible. Right now I have to protect and improve the team in what we are not doing well, but changing everything is difficult. I'm not going to do something that I don't feel inside.

It’s true that when we take the lead we have to improve, although it is not true that we play open because the opposition aren’t creating 8 or 9 chances per game. When we lower the pressure and we don't push 100%, but rather 70%, is when the team have difficulty. We do have to change small things to improve the team.

Speculation about his future

That’s part of my job. The coach is always a man who is alone when he goes to sleep, and when he is in difficulty he has to think for himself. It’s part of my job. We live off our results. At this moment I have to think about how to improve the team and get the victory