Pepe Mel: "The players are convinced that they will beat CA Osasuna"

UD Almería head coach Pepe Mel assessed the next rivals in the pre-Osasuna press conference: 'Except for their head coach, I don't see CA Osasuna better than us. We approach this match with big expectations. Why aren't we going to win?. I only hope that my team bring joy to the fans.'

The Madrid native coach has repeated: 'They aren't better than us' but at the same time he has analysed the qualities of the Rojillo team: 'They're great at set-pieces- the ones who score the most goals in this aspect-, their full-backs are fearsome with Budimir up front and they stand out on the second balls. Mr Mel has described CA Osasuna as 'difficult rivals.'

Before the international break, UD Almería achieved their first and long-awaited victory in the LaLiga and Pepe Mel has argued: 'We would've preferred not to have this break to take advantage of the footballers' rush after winning.' However, the Rojiblancos have not been able to take full advantage of the time: 'Five players left and we also preferred that both Marezi and Radovanović recover from their respective issues so we haven't had many players available either,' he clarified.

The Madrid-born gaffer has confirmed Melero's absence due to a sanction and has shared his thoughts on the matter: 'There's no right to free speech. Surely, he was naïve. It's curious that in the Spanish House of Representatives they badmouth each other every day but we cannot exercise the right to free speech. The rules are like that.'

'The players are convinced that they will win this Saturday,' he added. Pepe Mel has also repeated the need to forget about the table and the season: 'That will only cause stress and pessimism. The objective is to win as much as possible and finish the season with the best vibes.'

The Indálicos head coach does not change his message: 'In this new league, we're three out of three. By beating CA Osasuna we'd improve our mental toughness to face the next games.'