Javier Aguirre was on pre-match press conference duties ahead of our hosting of Real Betis this Saturday evening. Find out what he had to say below:
On the team: "With our feet on the ground. Very calm and tired. We are focused on the league. It is a Real Betis side that is going to demand us and that beat us there and last year here. We have to play better than we did against them because they are a very good team."
On Nacho Vidal: "He has already trained with us. He had to sign some papers, but he has been called up and is fit. We don't know if the papers are going to arrive due to bureaucracy, but if they do, he'll be on the bench.”
On absentees: "Maffeo is out. Antonio Sánchez has a blow to his knee, but he will be called up."
On Muriqi: "He is not ready for the full 90 minutes. I don't know if he's starting or a substitute, but he's not ready for 90 minutes. He was unlucky because we were down to 10 and the change was scheduled for him to play close to either Abdón or Larin."
On upcoming matches: "Experience tells me to go one game at a time. I know we're playing Real Betis and I don't want to see anything beyond that. We have to concentrate on the match and focus well. As I told you, Real Betis have got a good measure of us. We have not been able to beat them and at home we will see if we are capable, this time, of playing better and winning."
On potential departures: "At the moment no one has expressed their intention to leave.”
On Greif: "When I came here he was injured. It was decided that we would bring in Rajković and Greif continued with his serious problems. Now he has become healthy, strong and eager. He's challenging for the position and is making it very difficult for me."
On Real Betis: "It's a team made for Europe, made and right. They are competing well. Pellegrini has always done very well. I think they are a team that will demand a lot from us with the ball. We must be very alert and attentive so as not to disappoint ourselves or the fans."
On the team improvement: "We have improved a lot in the defensive area. They don't get to us much and we have a good organised game in the final third. All that daring and all the good things we do without the ball, we have lacked with the ball. Offensively, we lack that little bit of desire and of wanting to take that little step forward."
