Real Oviedo Head Coach Cuco Ziganda appeared in the Press Room at El Requexón today.
Ahead of setting off for Tenerife tomorrow morning, the Real Oviedo Coach has analysed the upcoming fixture at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López, stating that "Friday's match is vital. Even though there will still be a long way to go and time to do anything, Tenerife is an opponent in one of the positions we want to aim for. We are going to approach it with complete confidence and with the hunger to put in a great performance."
Regarding the next opponent, Ziganda highlighted that "we are six points off of them and a win could change everything. We are going to go into it in a competitive manner and with confidence in our strengths. We have to do things well, put in a great performance, and go out there with attitude and energy, as we have been doing recently. We want to see the Real Oviedo that we have been enjoying seeing away from home. We are ambitious and would like to push upwards."
Real Oviedo have had an unusual couple of weeks, with two weeks to prepare for Friday's encounter. Discussing this matter, the Gaffer reasoned that "we've had time to train well. We've done good physical and tactical sessions and worked on specific automatic movements. We are coming off the back of a break, but we have done some good sessions, and it's done us all good. We have to back that up with a great performance on Friday."
Asked about the aim of reaching the playoffs, Ziganda admitted that "that's what we want to do. We would like to be as close as possible to those positions that we are all aiming for. We are focusing on the next match and going into it with confidence and willingness. We mustn't be afraid of anything, and we need to have the ambition and the hunger to back up what we've done in recent matches. We are only thinking about Tenerife, and then we'll see where we deserve to be. We aren't in a position where we can afford to not make the most of any match."
Finally, regarding the recovery of players in the centre of the pitch, with Javi Mier and Luismi back in training with the squad, the Coach stated that "we have them back, although Javi is not at 100%. If he has to play a few minutes then he's ready for that. We have four players available for central midfield, as well as the option of the B team players who are doing well when they step up. Luismi is training well. He puts in great effort, lives intensely for his profession, and is absolutely dedicated. Luismi always gives everything and pushes himself to his physical limits, and that's why he performs at the levels that he does. He's fine. We look after him like we do any other player, but we know that with a little help he gets back up to speed quickly."
