Palma, 24 Feb. Javier Aguirre, Mallorca’s Mexican coach, has predicted “a nice duel” in the Santander League Round 23 game his team will face against Diego Martínez’s Espanyol this Saturday at the RCDE Stadium.
“They are coming from winning (at Elche), so are we (at Villarreal at Son Moix). Hopefully we can break this losing streak as visitors and change the course of the stats,” Aguirre said, referring in four consecutive matches. defeats away from They are Moix.
“If we’re not competitive, any team beats us. We have to play good football, stick together when we don’t have the ball. We don’t do that when we play abroad and it costs us expensive,” he explained.
“We didn’t come back well after the World Cup (in Qatar) away from home and we barely found the tone in Sevilla,” admitted Aguirre.
Mallorca, despite poor home results, are eighth in the table with 31 points. On the 23rd day, they are closer to European competitions than to the relegation zone, carried by their excellent results in their stadium of Son Moix.
Aguirre, however, doesn’t even want to hear about playing in Europe next season.
“I’m not the one to stop the euphoria from you (the media), the players or the fans. It’s not my role, it’s something that as a coach I can’t control. But, with the experience that I have of so many years in Spanish football, I know that 31 points is not enough,” said the Mallorcan coach.
Regarding the team, he confirmed in a press conference that he had all the players against Espanyol, and announced that “maybe” he will make some changes compared to the eleven who beat Villarreal 4-2 the day before. in Palma.
“I made changes every game in different positions. I want everyone to feel part of the team in good times and bad,” said Aguirre, who said he was happy with the results of the match. “internal competition” which he favored by fielding almost everyone on the team.
“Everyone must feel important. I shot in all positions, fortunately I have no injuries and it allows me to move the bridge,” he pointed out.
The Mexican coach also recalled his time at Espanyol and congratulated his colleague Diego Martínez: “I respect Diego a lot. With Granada, he did a great job in the first division, he brought it into Europe, and with Espanyol he is also doing a great job. He is a hard worker for those who love his job, he has a vocation as a coach. Espanyol have just come from a very important victory in Elche. They are recovering troops and Surely they will want to approve this victory at home, in an exquisite field where I spent two seasons “pointed out Javier Aguirre.-