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Martínez: “It’s going to be a very demanding match”

The coach speaks on RCD Espanyol's midweek match at Osasuna

Diego Martínez explained at his pre-match press conference that Thursday’s trip to Osasuna will be “a very demanding match”.

RCD Espanyol are back in action four days after their maiden home win against Real Valladolid, as they make the journey over to Pamplona. Speaking to the media at the RCDE Stadium on Wednesday, the coach spoke of a unique test against a side sitting ninth in the league.

Martínez said, “We always take all tactical possibilities into account. Tomorrow is a very different match to the ones we have played so far, against a tough opponent. For this reason, we will have to stay very focused and have a very high pace.

“We will have to be very attentive to any situation: second balls, being very intense in individual duels and having the personality when we have the ball that, at times, we have had in previous games.”

Espanyol come off the back of their first home win of the season last Sunday, where they overcame Real Valladolid 1-0. While the focus is now firmly on Thursday and the match in question, Martínez admitted that the result has had a positive influence.

“The mood is different, the team was happy and exhausted on Monday,” he said. “The victory must motivate us to work even harder. Among us we must build a team that shows a response.”

He added, “We now have another challenge, which is to go to Pamplona to play against a very strong opponent, who have started the season very well and will provide an extremely demanding match.”

Espanyol have one of the strongest away records in LaLiga and will look to build on that at El Sadar. The coach acknowledged the challenge of arriving as the away team, but showed belief in the squad ahead of Thursday’s match.  

Martínez said, “Keeping a clean sheet as we did in Bilbao [in the 1-0 win at Athletic] is important for us. Showing that spirit of rebellion is also important. It's hard away from home, we've scored goals and the team has shown a positive personality.”