Aguirre: “We face the Copa del Rey with optimism, seriousness and excitement”

Valencia CF coach Javier Aguirre talked to the press before the team’s Copa del Rey opener against UE Tavernes de la Valldigna.

Guido Rodríguez’ statements after the loss to Villarreal CF

“He’s right, and I agree with him.”

The fitness of the squad

“We have improved. We have all nine players back from injury. Foulquier and Copete will feature tomorrow. As for Sadiq, if he continues with his recovery, and he will be available against Elche CF.”

Van Oevelen

“I’ve been coach for three matches; Stole has played in them, and we’ve conceded 3 goals. I’m happy with all three of our goalkeepers, and any one of them could play. All three deserve to play because they work very well.”

Opportunities for VCF Academy players

“We’ll be taking four or five players from the B team, and obviously they can play. They train regularly with the first team and have a great understanding with them.”

UE Tavernes

“We cannot underestimate our opponents. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose. We must take responsibility for our actions and play as seriously as possible. If anyone gets ahead of themselves in any way, I will reprimand them, because that is not right.”

Copa del Rey

“We’re approaching it with the same optimism as always, and we want to bring some joy to our fans. We’ll take the Copa del Rey as seriously as possible, using it to help us in LaLiga. The club know that we urgently need to improve our results. Hopefully, we can get off to a good start tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to it; the Copa del Rey is never a distraction. As a club, we need to step up in both competitions, and we’re approaching the Copa del Rey with the same enthusiasm we have for getting back on track in LaLiga.”

Rotations

“There will be some squad members who won’t play; I’ll include them in the squad, but those showing signs of fatigue won’t feature.”

The ‘Aguirre Factor’

“I don’t know where that word comes from. A change of coach always brings changes, but it all comes down to winning -there are no secrets besides that. Winning shapes everything. Crises, on the other hand, do lead to changes. Right now, we’re here, trying to win games, and we’ll see if we’re capable of getting a win on our fourth attempt.”