Rubi: ‘We’re going to see a good UD Almería squad again’
The head coach underscores that the absentee list is still long, but the players who are travelling to Lugo are match fit for a particularly tough game
‘We’re going to see a good UD Almería again in Lugo,’ assured UD Almeria head coach Rubi Rubi at the press conference prior to Wednesday’s away game against CD Lugo (KO 9pm Spain Time/ Gol TV live) at the Anxo Carro Stadium. This match was rearranged after being called off a month ago due to a Covid-19 outbreak within the Galician team.
The head coach explained ‘we’re psyched up that it’s gonna be a particularly tough game against rivals who really make things difficult for their opponents at home and therefore, it’s a challenge for us. I reckon we were a very solid team in Las Palmas. CD Lugo use very different tactics when playing football…so if we manage to be a solid group again this week, this will be the second stern test passed with flying colors.’
With regard to Northerner hosts CD Lugo, Rubi referred to them as ‘a team who make you suffer with their wide players and other players who finish off brilliantly. The centre-forwards and attacking playmakers from CD Lugo are skilled, strong players. They’re opponents that almost always concede goals, but usually scores. That's why if we show that level of defensive consistency that we showed the other day, it’d be an important day for me.’
Rubi confirmed that there are still many players out of action. He clarified in this regard that ‘all the players who are travelling are 100% match fit. We’ve prepared well for the match, we’ve had days to spare so there’s no excuse.’ He then added ‘last week of training has been quite hard, especially on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as we grafted away and I think these days have been very good for us. It’s true that we’re still missing a number of crocked players, that we haven’t yet been able to work with them, but at the same time we’ve taken advantage of the time. The team members have been training hard to improve their fitness, despite the fact that in Las Palmas, in my view, we already finished quite well that day and we’ve given it another plus.’
The Catalan concluded ‘it’s a Matchday in which only CD Lugo, UD Almería or both are going to get points and that means that everything that happens to us is going to be positive.’ The Rojiblancos will go into the next match against SD Eibar with a 6, 4 or 3-point advantage; always ahead, as highlighted by the head coach, who indicated that his players’ enthusiasm is boundless for having the possibility of opening the gap with their most direct rivals in the league.