Jagoba Arrasate spoke at a press conference ahead of our clash with CD Leganés on Saturday 19 April at 18.30 CET at the Mallorca Estadi Son Moix. Find out what he had to say below:
On injured players: "Well, we still have the same absentees, the four absentees from the other day. The positive thing is that they are already working on the pitch and that means they are closer to returning. I think it's difficult for them to come back on Tuesday, because at the end of the day the game is very close, then there's a break until Girona, when we play on Monday. Well, let's see if we can get everyone back for Girona."
On a possible line-up: "If I had any doubts during the week, I don't have them now, but it's true. On the one hand, you think “well, let's give them continuity”, on the other hand, you might think “well, you're playing at home”, you want to take more initiative, have more presence. These are logical doubts for a coach, but well, sometimes that's not so important, it's more important to be like we were the other day: the attitude, the disposition, the effectiveness we had. I think we've had a week where we've gone from seeing everything black to seeing everything clear and I think that's a true reflection of how the league is, so we mustn't dramatise when things go wrong, we mustn't get uppity now that we've won. What we have to do is, beyond one way or another, face tomorrow's game as we faced it in San Sebastian."
On the intensity: "That's what you always want: to get ahead and stay in the game, not to give the opposition options, to be able to close out the game with a second goal. But that's very difficult to do in the first division, we saw that against Celta, we took the lead and I think we played a good first half, but the second half was the opposite. The script will probably be different tomorrow, but above all we need the defensive solvency we showed the other day, it's been a long time since we defended so well and kept a clean sheet, but we also need to be effective. The other day we scored two or three goals from two or three chances, and that makes it easier for you to get the win."
On Leganés: "We know Leganés very well, they are a team that is competing very well and doing things well. Things aren't going well for them, but I think they're doing well; they lack a bit of efficiency, a bit of luck. We know that it's a very difficult game, so hopefully we can see Mallorca dominate, playing in the opposition's half, creating chances. But that's very difficult and it's impossible to prolong it for 90 minutes. We have a lot of respect for our opponents, I think it's been a week of learning for everyone. That has to help us to only think about the next game, tomorrow's game, respect Leganés and work with humility and ambition to try to win the game."
On Larin: "When you score a goal, you win, it's your birthday... it's been a good week for him, let's see if he'll be back tomorrow. Strikers live a little bit from that, when you score a goal, win and feel important, your self-esteem and confidence goes up a little bit. The strikers, surely, is the position where confidence or the state of mind that you can have can be the most decisive. It's been a positive week for him, hopefully that will be reflected tomorrow."
On Larin and Muriqi: "They are two players who normally, usually, have played alone. So, when you play with another striker, the counter-moves come into play, the issue of how to complement each other. The day against Girona they both started and scored the first goal between them, the day against Rayo they both played and I think it was one of the best games we've played at home... I think we have room for improvement there too, but as Muri isn't here now, he'll play alone or with Abdón or Marc."
On Europe: "It's good news because there's one more place, but I think it's been a week of learning, because nobody thought about that eighth place after Celta and now if we think about it, and it depends on what happens tomorrow, we're not going to think about it. We're going to try to win tomorrow, and in principle that's good news, but the focus is on tomorrow's game."
On Sergi Darder: "It always attracts more attention when you score goals or make assists, but he is a playmaker, we don't have to evaluate playmakers just by their numbers. He is able to generate superiority, to circulate the ball better and for others to take advantage of it and how do you measure that? The easiest thing is goals, assists... I think Sergi has had a good season and, especially now, he is very confident and if he is at the level he was the other day, we are all better and life is easier, let's say. I'm delighted with him and I hope that in this final stretch he maintains the level he's maintaining now, because I think we're seeing the Sergi we all want to see."
On Leganés without Raba: "I think he's having a very good season and, especially in the last few games, he's been decisive, you could see that he was very confident. I think that above all the attacking play is very much down to him, but well, there's no Raba, there's Juan Cruz who is a great player and there's Oscar and there are the forwards and the midfielders who do a lot of work. It's a team that has a lot of alternatives, tactically I think it's a very rich team because it has a lot of variants and I think Leganes' strength is the group."
On the attacking approach: "That's what we would like, we did it that way in Donostia. The start of the second half was very good, we made it 0-2 and that gave us some peace of mind. On the day against Celta, at 1-0, we had a chance from Larin that we didn't put away, which would have made it 2-0, and from then on it's true that they subdued us and came back. What we would like is that, but often you have to do what you can and not what you want, but that would be ideal, yes."
On academy players: "Both Jan and Marc are in the squad, if they are there it's because they can play and they've been with us all week. We have them very much in mind. On Tuesday we have another game which, depending on how tomorrow's game ends, because of physical problems or a fifth yellow card situation, they could also have options. That's why we're keeping them close to us and I think they could have their minutes."