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García: "The players gave everything"
The coach reviews the loss to Athletic Club
Luis García talked to the media after his first game in charge -a loss to Athletic Club at the RCDE Stadium- in his post-match press conference. In it, the RCD Espanyol coach talked about what he had seen from his side.
"My feeling is one of hope, because I see the team as being committed and as having clear intentions in the game. We tried to play in a way that we had not been playing before, that was neither better nor worse. We have only had four days training together, and changing everything is impossible," he explained.
"You are only satisfied when the plan is executed and the objective is achieved, which is the three points, but I saw a team with intention, who wanted to do damage inside. We need to be more aggressive, but that's a question of working on it, nothing else."
"The team are really hurt. When you give it all of your enthusiasm and desire and it doesn't work out, it hurts emotionally, but that's football. It's normal. But I have no doubt that we are going to lift ourselves up because the team are insistent and want to improve. There are 10 games left. We must give peace of mind to the players, who have given everything".
Asked about a controversial refereeing decision that saw an Espanyol goal disallowed, García agreed that the call was a harsh one.
"The referee said that Joselu had made contact with his hand. It is difficult to interpret that he wanted to do so intentionally. It was a struggle. He couldn't throw his arm further back because there was an opposition player there. But it is something that we cannot control and we're not going to waste energy on it, but I'm angry because of a second card that should have been shown to Dani García. But refereeing is complicated and they try to do it as best they can. We won't waste an ounce of energy on what we don't control. We focus on our work. It's not up to me if we have to make a public complaint. I'm focused on our job and nothing else. What the club does will be the right choice."
He also addressed what he believes is required during the remainder of the season.
"You can't ask the fans for anything more. This club has taught me that it's special and that when things get tougher is when the fans are by our side the most. I have no doubt that they will continue to support us."
"We have to make progress in everything. If we are able to find players free, we must be more decisive. That's why I say that we must have more 'bad blood.' We must give them players the tools to be more effective and more decisive," García concluded.