Rubi: ‘We want to engage the fans so they can see that we’re being serious’
The UD Almeria head coach, who does not want euphoria and is being cautious, stresses ‘Real Oviedo are very well organised tactically’
‘I don’t want to wreck our hopes and it’s essential that we can engage the fans so that they see that we’re being serious and that we’ll be a good team throughout the season,’ exclaimed UD Almeria head coach Rubi during the pre-Oviedo presser.
The Rojiblancos will host Real Oviedo on Matchday 2 at Juegos Mediterraneos this Friday (kick-off 10pm Spain Time). With regard to the fact that around 4,100 season ticket holders will attend the first home match of this season, the head coach stated ‘I’d like to convince them to come back.’
UD Almería will go into the next fixture on the back of a comfortable victory clinched in Cartagena, which only goes to show their excellent pre-season, but Rubi was clear and emphatic in pointing out ‘I want to be cautious because although it’s true that we’re in a good moment, the truth is that this has only just begun and there’s a long way to go.’
The LaLiga SmartBank meeting with Real Oviedo is around the corner: ‘Their opponents managed to draw level on the previous match despite they were winning 2-0 before. They played a great game but they dropped two points.’ Then he added ‘they have enough tactical concepts to hurt you, their head coach has changed the way of playing, now they want to be the ones taking the leading role with the ball and they’re very supportive when defending. They’re very well organised tactically.’ With all due respect for the rivals, Rubi stressed ‘if we achieve our high level of efficiency, things must go well.’
When the Catalan was asked about what has changed in his team compared to the previous campaign, he explained ‘to begin with, we had more time to work. Before we practised some concepts in official games, and now we did so in the pre-season. We’ve got more organisation, we’re more supportive on the pitch and there’s confidence in what’s done.’
The UD Almeria gaffer addressed some other issues, such as not understanding that the summer transfer window is still open even though the championship has already kicked off, or for example, one more season, Segunda Division won’t be interrupted when there’re Matchdays for national teams. He also hoped to ‘have one more point of experience’ with the arrival of some new signings, although he prefers a not too big squad.