It was a tough day. One of the hardest, really. Nerves ran high, and the urge to justify every move pushed some voices to shield the reality with data that feels cold and hard to absorb. Lolo Escobar’s remarks in the press area yesterday, before the match with Formentera, illustrate how pressure can tilt perception and how a coach tries to restore balance and authority in a moment of strain.
Seven days earlier, while promising to push toward fifth place with thirty points after arriving in Alicante, the blue-and-white coach steered his team onto a new path. This city and this squad have seen plenty of twists, and the road ahead still offered more chapters to be written.
His departure from his predecessor after five defeats and thirteen games was met with calm by the Extremadura coach. He accepted the challenge of steering the blue-and-white project, even when some feared a descent was inevitable. Yet the reality at hand suggested stairs rather than a fall—more work, more time, more belief that salvation could be found.
simple verification
“Some losses have been hard to swallow, but dwelling on them won’t help. The aim is to move forward, fight for wins and for a place that keeps us safe. When I arrived, the team was four points from relegation, a distance we’ve managed to shrink with grit and collective effort,” the coach explained. Even in defeat, the sense of opportunity remains alive, with a chance to contend for the playoff spots as others falter along the way.
At the start, the goal of immediate salvation was publicly debated, yet Hercules stood thirteenth after the first thirteen fixtures under Escobar’s leadership. The draw at Olot, which precipitated the previous coach’s exit, left the team in a perpetual playoff posture—one point shy of twelfth, in the race that determines survival and progression. The moment of maximum tension came after a home loss to Lleida, a night that left players and staff briefly tested, yet the standings remained within reach.
When Lolo Escobar arrived in Alicante just before the 14th match day, he claimed the squad was “four points from safety,” an assessment the reality has since challenged.
The squad endured tough times, with outcomes not aligning with expectations and a mirror-like pattern emerging in the way the crisis was handled during the tenure of Ángel Rodríguez, whose dismissal preceded Escobar. The coach recalled that the team didn’t show superiority in victories nor weakness in defeats, and he reminded everyone of the critical upcoming match against the island club, which sat four points ahead in the standings.
“This final isn’t any more or less decisive than the ones before, and I hope we rise to the occasion this time—at least in the ultimate result, which really matters,” declared the Don Benito native, addressing the challenge ahead.
Disappointed with the second unit
“My plan was clear for the starting eleven, but when some pieces fell away, the substitutes didn’t step up. Maxi Ribero did well, but the rest weren’t able to bridge the gaps Raúl Ruiz’s passes created last week. We carried shortcomings we could not replace,” the coach reiterated, highlighting how the defense and midfield fell short in matching Víctor Eimil and Roger Riera’s roles.
“I had a very clear eleven in mind, but when the losses came, the substitutes didn’t take the opportunity.”
“Before matches, I try to stay positive and believe we can win. I don’t fixate on defeat. We can beat Formentera and close the gap to one point behind them. If I focus on the negative again, the team will stay where it found itself when I arrived. I want us to move forward,” he said after assessing the other team.
sincerity…
When Escobar first faced the press, he spoke with unexpected candor about the path he had chosen. “When I arrived, I had to come in and create a narrative around feelings in the locker room. I don’t need to do that anymore. The truth is we all need to reset, forget what happened, and face a nine-game mini-league where we must be excellent. That effort should help us finish fifth. My aim was to avoid relegation at all costs and then push toward the playoff spots, and we are in the middle of that battle,” he explained. The honesty, though, also carried a note of accountability for the team.
“This finale is neither more nor less final than its predecessors; I hope we are up to the task this time… at least in the final outcome.”
“If players ignore what’s happening around them, what’s being said or written in the media, and don’t look at the table, which is what I’m focused on now in my career, they would play better. But that’s not realistic, and maturity can be lacking, and everything heard or seen can impact them,” he stated.
Strategy at 11:30 on Sunday.
“This is a clash with Formentera, a team in fifth place. The scoring goal is to make the most of every chance; if we don’t perform at our best, we’ll suffer.” He warned that the opponent’s execution would be met with a focused, high-intensity response.
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“The week was spent correcting errors. We reviewed the corners that cost us a goal in Santa Eulalia and studied the opponent’s tight defense, aiming to hurt him more from wide angles. I’m not sure yet whether that means starting with two strikers, but the plan was to test ways to unlock the defense.”