Press conference
Rubi: 'We really need to win this game against Elche CF'
The UD Almería head coach considers Monday's 3 points against Elche CF vital, especially because the team have not won the last 4 games and have to change the streak. The gaffer praises the rivals and urges his side to 'recover the good vibes.' The support of the fans will be key on a working day
'The importance of winning Monday's game is tremendous, especially because after four games without winning we need to achieve a victory. Elche CF visit us, who are at the top, but if it were another rival the relevance would be the same,' explained UD Almería head coach Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia 'Rubi' as he looked ahead to Monday's match, the last one on Matchday 27.
The Rojiblancos have added 2 of the last 12 points at stake and their head coach urges his players to 'recover the good vibes we brought previously.' On that note, he added: 'We're working to get back to our level. We have it and it's a matter of taking more care of the details, thinking that there are 16 games to go and that now everything is of the utmost importance, that we're playing at home in front of our fans... these are messages that we also transmit to the players.'
UD Almería are in the tight race for promotion. 'This is how it ends and many things are still going to happen and we'll make a good final sprint, I'm sure,' said Rubi, who also stressed: 'The competition is the most complicated that I remember. It is a long-distance race with 8 teams positioned, for now, in the fight. There are clubs with a great tradition in Spanish football, Stadium with a large attendance of supporters... It's really hard to win.' He named CD Mirandés 'a team who are top of their game
The Catalan said that the UD Almeria fans are 'exceptional' but asked that they also make an effort to try to fill the Stadium in this final stretch because it will be key. 'When we go away we suffer,' he highlighted, and indicated: 'We play on Monday, a working day, and this is a problem, so they know that their support is essential.'
The Vilassar de Mar native heaped praise on the Elicitanos, about whom he explained: 'They've got a game idea in which they're very creative in the attacking third, their game is attractive and very offensive. They wants the ball, possession, to make you run and it's very difficult to mark them. In the first half of the season fixture, in their Stadium, we scored 2 against them and had more chances. We've shown that we can beat them and we're going to try to repeat it, although they'll create a lot of problems for us because they're a great team.'