Óscar Fernández: ‘We’ve got to remain faithful to what we’ve done all year’
The UD Almeria ‘B’ head coach thanks the fans for their all-out effort to go cheer on the team in Estepona
The UD Almeria ‘B’ youngsters are totally jazzed that they get to begin their play-offs journey against Marbella FC aiming to earn promotion to the Segunda Division RFEF. Their head coach Óscar Fernández gave a pre-match presser and explained to the media the following: ‘We’ve got to remain faithful to what we’ve done all year. We’ve got to find a balance, have a rock-solid defence as well as clear ideas with the ball. This is a game of efficiency so we have to look for all that in the opponents’ box.’
The UDA Academy side head coach preferred not to talk about a crunch game that should be classified as a final, but rather focused on the idea that ‘it’s just one more test’ within the growth process of a youth squad. All this led him to underline: ‘We’ve already achieved a goal, which was to qualify and now we’ve got a vital game against a great team.’
The match, which is actually a single-legged tie, has the circumstance that the youthful Rojiblancos are worth no other result than victory, while a draw could be enough for their adversaries. This made Óscar Fernández publicly share his pep talk with his players: ‘As I've been telling you all week, champions are crowned by winning and not drawing. As the good ‘B’ team that we are, we’re going to try to win and do things right, but remember that you become champions by winning.’
The ‘B’ team’s gaffer did not hide the identity of the rivals as they are expected to give the UDA Academy prospects a difficult time, albeit maintaining total confidence in his boys at all times: ‘We’re UD Almería and we have to go into the game with the fervent hope of winning and qualifying. This is a game and we’re going to have to do things very well,’ he stated.
Óscar also did not forget about the fact that some UDA Supporters Federation members and some other loyal supporters will be travelling to Estepona city in order to cheer on UD Almeria ‘B’: ‘I can’t thank them enough because they show that they feel UD Almería. We really appreciate everyone who’s coming on the trip and the people who always come to Vega de Acá field to cheer on the lads in the morning and send you those messages of complete support. That’s what makes you feel that they’re terribly excited about the UDA ‘B’ team.’