Juan Ignacio Martínez considers that tomorrow’s game against Lugo is special as it is the last of the season at home: “The last image in our stadium was not good. We come from a very good game in Oviedo and I ask for that attitude. We cannot let our guard down and we must compete to the death again. We have to turn La Romareda into a happy day for our fans”. In addition, the coach has charged against the schedules: “We play on Monday and we do it again on Friday. That is a lack of consideration for Real Zaragoza”.
—How do you face the last game of the season at La Romareda?
—It’s special and even more so after the last game at home. We know that a difficult team is coming because they don’t lose. With the utmost respect for Lugo, we have to turn La Romareda into a happy day for our fans. What I ask is the attitude we had on Monday. Anything can happen afterwards, but with that attitude and that predisposition of the team, everyone has to feel very satisfied and very happy.
—And for you it is also a special party? Do you think this could be your last meeting at La Romareda?
—Right now the important thing is our image as a team because the last image in La Romareda was not good. We come from a very good game in Oviedo and I am very proud, but we cannot let our guard down and we must compete to the death again. The fact that it is at nine at night helps because of the heat, but we play on Monday and we play again on Friday. That is a lack of consideration for Real Zaragoza.
—Are you convinced that the team will leave this Friday with the same attitude as last Monday?
‘Very convinced. Yesterday we had a barbecue here in which we had a happy moment and all that energy has to be transferred to the game. We, right now, are not looking for any kind of excuse. The fans have suffered a lot during the season and we have to give them that joy, especially with that predisposition and that attitude that was seen in Oviedo.
—You usually say that what works should not be touched too much. Are you going to bet on an eleven quite similar to Oviedo?
—At the moment we have a series of questioned players: Jair is in a feverish process, Francés has a knock… Since everything has been so fast, since we arrived at dawn on Tuesday… Today we hope to have those available and from there we will make the eleven. Can there be any change? It will depend on the blows and if any player is in pain, but if we have all of them, there may be a one-off change or repetition of eleven.
—Could tomorrow be the day of Lasure or of those players who are going to say goodbye to the fans as it is their last game at La Romareda?
—This is the case of those assigned, since the others have a contract. And as for Lasure, he has a lot of chances to play, either from the beginning or on the fly, because he is training very well. But above all we are going to try to put together an eleven that is very competitive. What has been shown during the season is that the issue of starting in Real Zaragoza has not existed. It is true that there are players who have played more minutes, but it is also true that the footballer who does not initially play knows that if he comes out and gives his performance, he has a good chance of being in the starting team.
—In the last match against Zaragoza they were awarded two penalties per hand, the first of them very controversial and through the VAR. Do you understand that those hands are beating?
—The essence of football has always been said to be dribbling and now you can shoot it with the toe at hand. The VAR is to help, not to confuse. You know that I never talk about the referees and I have the utmost respect for them because I know it’s a difficult job, but even with the second penalty the ball goes out and doesn’t influence the game. I’m not going to complain because the VAR sometimes gives you and sometimes takes away, but it is true that I believe that the rule of the hand has to be clearer and they must be hands that are truly influential in the development of the match. It would be good to invite a representation of coaches and players and discuss.
Jair, Frances and Grandson, absent
This morning Real Zaragoza has carried out its last training session ahead of this Friday’s game against Lugo, in which Juan Ignacio Martínez has not been able to count on Jair, who is going through a feverish process, nor on Francés nor Nieto, who have carried out individual work.
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