‘We would have settled for this position at the beginning of the league too’
Mario Silva does not understand that there is a mood of deepening pessimism when the team continue to fight for promotion
‘If at the beginning of the league somebody had told us that at this point in the season we were going to be where we are currently, we would have settled for it too’; these were statements made by Mario Silva, Almería’s head coach, who does not understand that there is a mood of deepening pessimism, or even drama, in the dressing room when the team continue to fight for promotion to the First Division, either through automatic promotion or entering the play-off competition.
For this reason, the Portuguese gaffer is of the opinion not to look beyond the imminent home game, which is taking place on Monday against Rayo Vallecano, ‘opponents who play football brilliantly and who not only seek to have ball possession but also control the game,’ he explained. Then he added that ‘we have to cancel out their virtues and enhance ours’, and pointed out that ‘above all, we must not rush into things when it comes down to building our game.’
Although Mario Silva does not like to look back, he emphasised that ‘despite of the fact that we have lost the previous two games, our performance has been truly praiseworthy. We did not as bad as the results can say; on the contrary, and although we are saddened, there is also hope for the hard work done and because we continue in the fight for promotion.’
In fact, the Lusitanian head coach stressed that ‘we can hold our head up high, be highly motivated, excited and keep on having our ambitious plan. We are fighting for a very important objective and the imminent step that we have to take is to beat Rayo Vallecano. It’d be an essential victory for us.’
On the other hand, and speaking on a personal level, Mario Silva stated that ‘the club have entrusted me with a difficult and hard mission; as a club’s employee I assume it with all the responsibility and I will try not to let them down because of the complete trust they have placed in me, even though I don't have all the time I’d like to have to prepare for the matches due to the rush of time. Also, I knew the reality, even though I was not part of the first-team coaching staff. As an employee I am widely available and fiercely committed to the club for whatever decision they may decide as well as helping them no matter what.’