Gattuso: “We have to keep working and look forwards”

Valencia CF coach Gennaro Gattuso spoke to the media in a press conference after the draw against Sevilla FC.

What is your assessment of the game in general?

I think a draw is a fair result. We played very well in the first half, and Sevilla FC did very well in the second half. When they changed their tactical setup we failed with our pressing, as in the second half we didn’t press as we should have. A draw is a fair result.

In the second half the team didn’t play as well as in the first half. Why was this?

This is a process. There is a lot of talk about us having a young team. Coming here is difficult. We need to improve. We have to improve the tactical reading we made in the second half. When Sevilla changed tactics, we didn’t read things well, and we have to improve, but I am very happy with the first half because of how played and how we held up as well. We have to keep going. What happened with Gayà is football, as you can miss a penalty. We have to keep working and look forward.

Do you think the team dropped deep too soon?

No. I don't like to play backwards, I always like to play forwards. My job is to give continuity to the mentality of the team. Before I talked about fear, but that is not the right word. We have to carry on and believe in everything we do. We have to get better at reading the game, as I say.

You have talked about playing offensively, but in the second half the effective playing time was less than 30 minutes.

I like to play football. I don't train players to waste time. Here we played until the 110th minute. I like to play football. I don't teach my players to stay down or waste time. In the first half you saw for yourselves that I like us to play football.