Jagoba Arrasate spoke to the media in his pre-match press conference ahead of our Cope del Rey fixture against Pontevedra as we kick off our new year. Find out what the boss had to say below:
Llabrés and Dani Luna: We have arrived well after the holidays. We're looking forward to the month of January. Apart from Samu who is injured, the two of them and Raíllo are out. We'll see what happens with them, they are two players of the club, present and future, and they need to play. We'll see what happens in this market.
Pontevedra: It's not a trap game, we've seen a lot of Pontevedra and we know the potential they have. As for the Super Cup, that will come next week, now we are concentrating on the Cup. They are an opponent who have beaten Levante and Villarreal and are in a great moment. They are also a very attacking team at home and they will try to dominate. We know what we're up against.
Rotations: We will put out a competitive eleven and with respect to Getafe there will be changes. We need people who are committed, hungry and also people who can hurt the opposition. Looking at all of this, we'll put out the best eleven.
The Copa del Rey: Anyone who has experienced last year knows how beautiful the Copa del Rey is and all the emotions it arouses and how important it is for the fans. It's very difficult to match that and we know what it means. We want the trip to be a long one but for that we have to overcome different stations and the first one is Pontevedra. Hopefully we can have a long trip in this Cup.
Martin Valjent: I already said it, I know they are talking. It is a decision between the club and the player. I am delighted with him and what concerns me is to worry about his performance, which is going well. He is training very well and that is what is most important for me.
The transfer market: The first thing is not to weaken us and if we can strengthen ourselves, look, all teams are susceptible to improvement and the sporting management is aware of that. Right now I'm not thinking about arrivals and it's true that we have too many players in some positions and it's normal that someone will leave. From there, the most important thing is to maintain our strength as a group.
Match management: It's very easy: thinking about Pontevedra, playing the Pontevedra video, making the match plan, travelling today and focusing only on Pontevedra. From then on, hopefully it will be an exciting month with lots of games.
The departures: We have four central defenders and we would like to keep four. Van der Heyden is the one who is playing the least and we'll see what happens. In the winger position we have players who are not playing and I am using players who are not wingers in those positions. All this means that there are some players who have little continuity and if you add to this the fact that they are our young players who need to play, we will see what happens in this market.