Gracia: "We will not be surprised by the competitiveness of Yeclano Deportivo"

Valencia CF are in Copa del Rey action this Thursday against Yeclano Deportivo, and coach Javi Gracia gave a press conference to preview the contest and look at the team's current situation.

The opposition and the weather conditions

In terms of the weather, we have been training in conditions that are a bit colder recently. I don't think the conditions are enough to prevent us from playing normally. We are going to play on a pitch that is a little smaller than the smallest in LaLiga, and narrower than what we are used to.

As for the opposition, them playing in a lower division does not make us think that it will be a simple match. We will not be surprised by the competitiveness of this team; we are prepared for it and some teams have already been eliminated by lower division teams. It will not surprise us, and we will try to compete against a well organised team, with their virtues, variants, size and speed. We are prepared for a really demanding game.

Making rotations for the Copa del Rey

I understand that we need to make rotations this week, in which there are so many games and so little recovery time. That includes games that are so important in the Copa del Rey, because it's a knockout competition and a bad performance can see you eliminated. Then we've got a league game in Valladolid, with points at stake that we need. We need to try to maximise our resources and our squad, and get the best performance from everybody. Logically, tomorrow there will be rotations and -like in the last game- players who haven't featured as much. It's another competition, and we have the desire to stay in the cup. The dressing room is excited about this, prepared and hopeful that things will go well.

The dressing room mood

The dressing room are responsible. We are suffering because of the situation, which means that when you don't get a win there is disappointment and disillusionment. Little by little, they are recovering, and getting back to work is the only remedy to try and regain confidence.

A meeting with president Anil Murthy

"I don't think that I can add much more about it than is already known. It was a meeting to comment on the situation the team are in, and show me the support from the club after a conversation the president had with Peter Lim. They are determined to improve the team's results, and they believe that I should continue as coach. 

I believe that the club have the intention of strengthening the team. It's a situation in which the club know the needs that we have, and from there we could make a signing in accordance with the possibilities that we have."

The meeting allowed me to be convinced that the strategy was the same, that I had to keep working. The meeting was held after training, then I left the meeting and we continued preparing for the Copa del Rey game and the match at the weekend. We continue to try to improve the team's situation. A coach knows that he depends on results, so  it is not about fear or not having fear; it is about trying to do your best job and assuming your responsibilities.

Worry about the current situation

I always want to be optimistic that we are going to improve in the next match, and that's the motivation we all use when working. However, being critical and analysing the situation, we can see that we are finding things hard and that we need to change this dynamic. To what degree does each person realise the level of danger that would come with the team not improving? That is down to the individual. It's personal.

I can say that I work with the responsibility and feeling that every game and every training session requires the utmost intensity. It's time to prepare things well, so that we have more of a chance of winning later. The necessity is getting greater all the time and it is becoming ever more important. I am aware of that.

Fans being allowed at the Copa del Rey game

It's difficult. What should be the source of great joy -as professionals are working with the objective of having fans in the stadium- is in some way dangerous in the situation that we are in. We don't know if this will help or not. I would like to see the stadiums full as soon as possible, as that would mean that things are going well.