Rubi: 'We're prepared to face the next battles in the best position'
The UDA first-team head coach expressed his satisfaction with the point earned against Cádiz CF, which makes UD Almería leave for the Christmas break topping the table: 'When you can't win, you get a point and go on holiday as Christmas leaders'
UD Almería head coach Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia 'Rubi' gave his verdict on the hard-fought one-all draw with rivals Cádiz CF. Furthermore, during the post-match press conference, he made a brief analysis of what this first half of the season has been like that has resulted in UD Almería going on holidays as Christmas leaders.' Rubi began by commenting on the match against the Cadistas: 'It was a difficult match, against a very good team, very well positioned on the pitch. We already knew that defensively they were going to be strong. When you can't win, you get a point and go on holidays as Christmas leaders. We're satisfied.'
The Catalan recognises that finishing 2024 in first place is a well-deserved reward for the graft and full involvement and also stressed that they are not going to give up at any time: 'The team that get ahead is the one that, in theory, have done things better. The table does not deceive twenty-one games, but it's also true that there are things we can do better. I'm very demanding. I want people to be happy because we've turned around a complicated situation and we're prepared to face the next battles in the best position.'
The Vilassar de Mar native is happy with his team's performance, but insists that there will be no room for relaxation ahead of the new year: 'We aren't going to slow down at the level of demands. We've had many hours of work, corrections, talking with the footballers and now we see a UD Almería that can be recognised and totally identified with the objective.'
Continuing with more analysis of the first half of the 2014/25 campaign, Rubi considers: 'The injuries have been the worst part, without a doubt. It's true that we had a four-game slump at the beginning. We're going to try to adjust the team to face the second half of the season with guarantees.'
The Indálicos' gaffer concluded by appreciating his players' hard work and positive attitude to clinch so many victories in the Segunda division and highlighting its competitiveness: 'It's particularly difficult to win games, we've been on a spectacular winning streak, but some have been narrow victories and we've suffered for it. It's normal in this tier because of high competitiveness and because the teams are very well worked and disciplined.'