The coach faces the week of his debut against Cadiz and has given some clues as to what he hopes to instill in his team to seek permanence.
Jose Luis Mendilibar He will make his debut this Saturday as a trainer of Sevilla on a visit to Cádiz on day 27 of LaLiga. The coach has been working with his team for almost a week and has made no secret of his plans to turn the situation around, starting with changing his team’s mood.
“Of the tranquility, of the green, of try to do things right during training, without rushing. Try to make it as simple as possible, not complicated. Make as few mistakes as possible, play easy. I think the players will appreciate it.S. You see the players on TV, the gestures they make, and you think you know them. Then you see them every day, and they’re people who accept correction, who accept what you tell them, and in that sense I’ve found players who are eager to go up and see something new. They craved a change, not a coach change, but they also need something. They’re very accepting of what we’re proposing, and I’d like to see them train these people when the national teams come back and see a little change. They are mentally down because of the team’s situation. With the soft player or things go round and everything goes well… but when they go wrong you have to bring out your personality. It is important that the captains, the most experienced, show their face and the others follow,” he explained.or in an interview on “Canal Sur”.
Defense, everyone’s responsibility
In terms of defense, Mendilibar knows he will still have few central defenders, but he assures that the defensive level will depend on what the whole team does: “Marcao will not be in Cadiz. it won’t arrive. First there were sales, then you bring people, some at the last minute, injuries… They played with central midfielders. In that sense they have not been lucky and they have noticed it. It’s not just a defense issue. If you don’t defend well, it’s because you don’t defend well from above. everything goes together“.
Attack from the outside and with Jordán closer to the area
On the offensive side, the Basque coach is not closed to playing with two attackers, but he does expect a change in the way of attacking rather than the actors who attack: “I don’t know if the players or the system allow you to to be more offensive or not. It’s the idea you have to give to the player. Our game needs to be more on the outside, try to get crosses, at certain times we can play with two strikers. In this team there are only two specific ones, there is no third in the room, and you have to count on that too. We’re not closed to anything.”
Likewise, the coach wants to change the role of a player he already knows from his time at Eibar, such as Joan Jordán: “I need to see him train. The requirements will change, for better or for worse. When he got to Eibar he played inside, he just looked up. I told him ‘Joan, you must be a midfielder’. Here he plays closer to his own goal than to that of his opponent. With us it will be the other way around. We know each other and the demands we make of him will be made of us.”
In terms of his personal situation, Mendilibar is not closing the door on extending his time at the club, although the most important thing is to achieve permanence over the glamor of the UEFA Europa League: “We have only come for these three remaining months. I know that if things go well and both the club and I are comfortable, we can stay. Which I don’t want to mortgage. Put in the contract that if I save the category, you stay. I can save her and have no feeling. I prefer the season to end, if we need to talk we talk and if we’re not happy we leave and nothing happens. Years ago I drew one plus one, but with Éibar I started drawing year after year. If things are going well, it’s normal for us to stay. They kick you out of a few places, but I’ve been in Osasuna for four years, Valladolid for four years, Eibar for six… It’s hard for me to leave the places where I’m good. People are thinking about winning the UEFA Europa League. That’s what a great team has. I am convinced that Sevilla are more respected in Europe than in LaLiga, for what they have done in the Europa League, with many titles. And quite recently, not so long ago. In Manchester they will feel favourite, but with respect for Sevilla.”
Source: Goal