Garitano: "We have to forget about Real Madrid CF and focus on the final against Alavés"
The UD Almería head coach warned that the match against the Vitoria-based team 'will be tough, they have a great head coach and good players.' Furthermore, he highlighted the trust he has in the fans: 'They're with the team, they always support us and encourage us. I'm tremendously grateful to them.'
UD Almería head coach Gaizka Garitano spoke to the local press about the 'final' against Deportivo Alavés: 'They have a great head coach, good players, they're a solid block... it'll be a difficult game. They're tough opponents so we'll have to give it out all, otherwise we won't be able to win.' Although he also highlighted and clarified: 'We're sure that we'll have a chance of winning.'
The Rojiblancos' gaffer shared the keys to being able to overcome the Basque Country outfit: 'We must keep up the good work shown in recent weeks, the growth is very good, but it hasn't given us enough to win. We have to try to play the good matches that we've been playing against adversaries in our league. In addition, we'll be playing on home soil and with a tremendous desire to win' and concluded by stating: 'For us, it's a final.'
Despite the Indálicos' head coach is only focusing on Friday's fixture, the aftermath from the match against Real Madrid CF still goes on, yet Mr Garitano nipped the problem in the bud: 'When you lose a game, as a head coach, what you do is prepare for the next one, in this case that of Deportivo Alavés. I don't want to know anything more about the match against Real Madrid CF.'
Regarding possible absences for this encounter, the Bilbao-born coach explained: 'I have many doubts, César Montes hasn't trained these days, although he played a small part with the group this Wednesday. Radovanović has had to travel to his home country but he came back last Wednesday and we'll see if he can be ready for the game. We're re also checking the fitness of the internationals returning from the African Cup of Nations [Baba, Mendes and Marciano]. Ramazani is to serve a one-math ban while Luis Suárez feels some discomfort and has undergone tests to see what he has.'
To bring his pre-Alavés press conference to a close, Gaizka Garitano sent a message to the UD Almería fans: 'The fans have always been there for us everywhere, in the stadium, on the streets... They're with the team, they strongly support us, they give us love. They encourage us. I'm tremendously grateful to them. We must be united and be a family.'