Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia 'Rubi' spoke to the media ahead of the promotion play-off semi-final against CD Castellón and stressed that 'the tie is 50-50 for both teams'.

Asked whether UD Almería should be considered favourites, he replied: 'I don't consider us favourites', although he acknowledged: 'It's true that we have a slight advantage because of the competition format'. As it is well known, the second leg will be played at home by the Rojiblancos and in the event of an aggregate draw, UD Almería would progress to the final without the need for a penalty shootout thanks to their third-place finish in the regular league season.

The Catalan explained: 'The training sessions during the week have been similar to previous weeks, perhaps with a little more intensity, but you can feel that we've reached a very important stage of the season'. Rubi believes his team is approaching the play-offs in good shape, adding: 'We're competing well, even if we have our ups and downs'.

The Vilassar de Mar native also highlighted the backing of the supporters: 'We're at the moment of truth and the fans are behind their team. Around 500 UD Almería travelling supporters will head to Castellón and that deserves recognition and gratitude because we all have to push together'.

Rubi was full of praise for CD Castellón: 'They play very good football and have many strengths. Offensively, they have great potential, just like us, because we are among the teams that produce the most shots in matches. Defensively, they're more consistent in their pressing and intensity'. Nevertheless, the UD Almería head coach expressed complete confidence in his own side.

Despite the two-legged nature of the tie, Rubi insisted his team will not play for a draw. 'We're going to Castellón to try to win', he stressed: 'It'll be essential to stay fully focused and not give anything away. The tie could be decided in short periods of the game, but we don't know when those moments will come, so we must be ready and attentive in order to tip things in our favour'.

Earlier this season, each side won their home league fixture. 'We know each other perfectly', said Rubi, before noting that 'both teams will use what they know about the opposition to fine-tune every detail and put in the best possible performance'.

Last season, UD Almería contested the play-offs without two key players, Luis Suárez and Marc Pubill, who were away on international duty with Colombia and Spain Under-21s respectively. At the time, Rubi criticised the situation and suggested that the tie against Real Oviedo had been compromised. Now CD Castellón find themselves in a similar position and when asked whether he still held the same view, he responded: 'Yes, obviously. I'm not going to say otherwise when I've been the one who has fought hardest on this issue'.