‘We have studied Ramis' football style to find out what will the game be like’
Even though José Gomes takes Tenerife into account, he specifies that he cares more about his team performance
Almería host CD Tenerife this Thursday, at 9.30 p.m. CET. The islanders are visiting the Juegos Mediterraneos Stadium with a new head coach in the driving seat, Luis Miguel Ramis. Despite he has conducted very few training sessions with his new team, Jose Gomes expects Ramis to ‘introduce some modifications.’ The Portuguese reported that ‘we’ve studied his football style to find out what the game will be like.’ As a result, Jose is aiming to have everything under control: ‘The important thing and what worries me the most is that we display a solid performance in all aspects.’
Considering that Almeria are facing a high amount of matches consecutively (last Monday in Albacete and travelling to Oviedo next Monday), the Almería gaffer clarified that more than changes or rotations ‘those players who are in better conditions will be the ones to play.’ José Gomes is satisfied with his team’s successful pathway, but he wants more progress. As a matter of fact, he mentioned that ‘We’re good on points, but there’re many things to improve and no coach will ever be 100% satisfied. The players’ attitude is good and the group is strong. That’s important for the foreseeable future, but we want to improve things and control the game for longer without being subject to the fact that the opponents can hurt us. I think we are on the right path’… and they clearly want to continue on it.
With regard to the next adversaries from the Canary Islands, he described them as ‘a team with good footballers who create offensive transitions with ease. They also place a lot of players in the finishing third and tend to pile on the pressure in the possession zone to start ball transitions from there. That’s part of their DNA and it won’t change, but you always doubt over changes.’
UD Almería will play until the Xmas break every two or three days and therefore, José Gomes gave his take on this matter: ‘If we play on Monday and the opponents played on Sunday… It’s undeniable that having two days aren’t the same as three. It’s not easy at all, but I have to make the best decisions for the club that pays me and sometimes, those decisions are not within the normal pattern. I heard Jurgen Klopp talking about this because we’re living in times when important decisions are made because of time pressure. TV contracts must be respected, but recovery times for athletes are not being respected and that not only has a detrimental impact on the show but also puts them at risk of injury. I have to deal with that and I have to make the right decisions to be strong.’