Gracia: "It's another step forward for our preparations"

The friendly against CD Castellón gave Javi Gracia the chance to see his players in action for the first time, and he gave his assessment following the final whistle in conversation with VCF Media.

The game
"It's another step for our preparations. We know that the most important thing right now is accumulating minutes, hard work and good feeling -as well as trying to avoid injuries. We had a little scare today with Kang In, but we hope that it's nothing serious. We're continuing with our preparation and we're happy to see the team working at this level, with the consistency and the faith that they are showing."

Optimism following the performance
"This was our first game. This was after last week, in which we had few sessions together as a group. First we had individual sessions, then a couple of days in which we were able to work. My feeling is that we've got a long way to go, obviously, and a lot of work to do. There are a lot of things to improve, but I also want to be optimistic and say that I think we are on the right path; we're on the first steps, but we've got the optimism that comes with having seen how the team work every day."

Young talent used
"I'm happy with everybody, and we were even thinking about fielding a few more players. Some players had more minutes than we were hoping to give them, such as Yunus and Uros, who played the full 90 minutes. That wasn't the initial plan. However, everybody's contribution is important. I think that, in order for young players to develop their talent, it is important that there are veteran players involved as well, to help them to grow."

Piccini's return from injury
"Piccini's quality is unquestionable. What we would all like is to see him at his best level as soon as possible. He's been through a difficult long term injury, but he is very excited about getting back to the level he was at before."

Aims for the upcoming week
"At least the players have a day off tomorrow, and from there we will have another week of hard work, with two games to go that we hope are undertaken normally. We will continue to compete, to learn and to improve, and continue working, above all."