Head coach Álvaro Cervera spoke to the media on Friday, discussing the shape Cádiz CF are in as they prepare for Sunday’s LaLiga Santander week-34 match away to Granada CF. “There are players who have reached the final games of the season with not much left in the tank,” he said, “but we’re raring to go for this game: it’s the first one where we can all but seal survival. Not for the first time, we know we’re visiting a side that also has plenty to play for, but if we can get the win we’re basically safe: that’s the message.”
Run-in: “We still have a good few teams below us – we’re in a good position. But we’ve been in this world long enough to know what can happen in football, so it’s important we end the season well and get the job done properly. I don’t like ending the season on a negative note, with bad results. I want us to be firing on all cylinders right to the end.”
Granada go into the match on the back of victory over Barcelona: “With all the players they have out, having to play a midweek league game wasn’t ideal for them, but they went out there and won at the Camp Nou, and they’re now within reach of the European places. So they’ve given themselves a real morale boost. I imagine they’ll be a little more tired than usual on Sunday, because playing three games in a week takes its toll.”
Analysis of Diego Martínez’s side: “They’re a team who get the ball into the right areas, and when they get themselves into dangerous attacking positions, they’re very effective. They’ve got really good players: the likes of Antonio Puertas, Darwin Machís, Roberto Soldado and Jorge Molina, to name just a few. In midfield, they’ve got really strong players who get up and down the pitch. And their defence is good, too. They’re an extremely solid top-flight side; they have all the tools to compete at this level.”
Possibility of supporters returning to stadiums: “I’m in favour of there being fans in the stands if it’s feasible. When it comes to football, we’re not the ones who have suffered the most. We’ve had to contend with all the checks that have to be carried out, but it’s all been done to ensure we can compete safely; we’ve been in a privileged position. It’s the fans who have suffered the most. So if it’s something that can be done, they should be able to return to stadiums. We need to pay tribute to the fans when they’re back in the stands.”
Psychological factor: “We’re into the final straight of the season and we’re not going to get any better physically. We keep data on all the players and we want everyone to make it to the end of the season in decent shape; we don’t want to lose anyone on the way. But right from the word go, what’s more important than anything else is the mental side of things. If your head isn’t right, you can’t play football, particularly at this stage of the season. You have to keep a cool head and surround yourself with the right people, people who are honest with you and keep you positive. We beat Getafe because we went out there having got ourselves in the right frame of mind after what happened against Valencia.”
