Rubi: 'We're where we wanted to be, but the goal is to still be here on Matchday 42'

'We're where we wanted to be, but the goals is to still be here on Matchday 42,' said UD Almería head coach Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia 'Rubi' as he summed up the situation in the post-match press conference following Monday’s game against Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa.

The Catalan spoke very positively about his side moving into the automatic promotion places to the top flight, although he was quick to stress that there is still a long way to go in the season: 'We have our feet on the ground and there are still 39 points left to play for. We'll take it game by game.'

As Rubi pointed out, the upcoming fixtures will be demanding: 'Now we're going to face teams that have a lot at stake, like Real Zaragoza, who we visit on Saturday. There won't be any easy matches and if we're not at 110% we'll struggle.'

Reflecting on the match against Cultural, he admitted the first half may not have been entertaining for spectators: 'The first half was probably boring for the fans because we scored early and didn't want to make mistakes. Cultural didn't want to either because they were only one goal behind. On top of that, we weren't good with the ball. In the second half we stepped it up a gear.'

Rubi also praised the support of the fans, emphasizing their importance to the team. 'When we're all together it's easier, as we've seen,' he said.

Finally, the Vilassar de Mar native noted that his squad could soon be at full strength again: 'If Stefan Dzôdić recovers, we'll have all the players available and the competition for places will be tremendous.'