Javier Aguirre spoke to the media ahead of our clash with Osasuna as our fight for survival continues. Find out what the boss had to say below:
On Muriqi’s suspension: It affects him because he was finishing the season well. He is regaining his fitness and was doing well. Unfortunately he received an absurd yellow card, not because of him but because of the game, but this happens in football. We have Abdón and Larin. We will see if they play together or one of them. It is a sensitive casualty, but there are 23 other players.On playing before Cádiz: It doesn't matter if you play before or after if you don't do your thing. I have that philosophy. I do my own thing. It's not nice to be dependent on others.
On the team: We took a weight off our shoulders against Las Palmas. The team was in a good mood, but not by much because today there is tension as we travel and tomorrow there is a match. We have three games left and our obligation is to try to win them.
On the fight for survival: Now we depend on ourselves. Well, I'm lying. They can win 10-0/8-0 and we can lose... but virtually, with such a big goal difference, it is unlikely that in two games you can make a difference of 13 goals. It's true that we depend on ourselves and I will emphasise that because it's 90 minutes and we are closing in on the objective.
On the game: A goal is a tactic because it conditions many things. Hopefully it will be a hard-fought match and hopefully we will be able to keep up the pace to go for it. It is not easy because Pamplona is a complicated place. It will not be an easy match and we have to be very intense, focused and not make any mistakes.
On achieving safety at El Sadar: They treat me well. I spent four fantastic years there. I have a lot of people I love and it's a place I like. Obviously I will go there to win, but before and after the match it is a place where I feel at home. It was fate to save us in 2022 and I hope it will be like that again.
On Maffeo: I would love to tell you that he is 100%. For a player who depends so much on his physical condition, which goes hand in hand with his mood, his head when he is not physically well can play a trick on him, but he can play at any time. It is a good problem to have Gio, Nacho and Maffeo.
On the table: The first thing is the objective and if after that we can go up even more positions it would be good. Even LaLiga gives the club incentives depending on where you finish. It's not the same to finish ninth as it is to finish fourteenth.
On absentees: There are no absentees apart from Muriqi and Valjent, but there is one player who felt something and in the call-up list we will bring two center forwards: one from the reserve team, Pau Mascaró, and another from the youth team, Alex Woiski.
On Osasuna's streak: Once you certify the permanence and you see that you do not reach Europe, you enter a kind of limbo. I can understand this streak of no wins, but they are professionals. Against Athletic it was the Osasuna of a lifetime. They played very good football. Tomorrow they will compete very well. Jagoba [Arrasate] deserves my respect. Since he was promoted he hasn't stopped making the team better. If he is a candidate to come here, he would be welcome because he is a very good coach.
On LaLiga improvements: One of them is the schedules. It's hard to understand playing on Mondays, Fridays, playing at 2 p.m. in this weather. I understand that it is an economic issue because of the TV channels and they are in charge but it would be a good subject to review. Otherwise, it is well organized. I also believe that with this eagerness to give content to the fans, they are going beyond certain limits of the coaches' and players' privacy? Everything is good as long as they consult the people who are inside what we think about some things. The VAR issue... maybe we should involve former players and coaches a little more because when we talk about interpretations, problems start to arise.