Mel: I won’t jump ship

Pepe Mel has determined that he will not walk away from Real Betis, as he recognises that the team’s form has taken a nosedive.

Los Beticos dropped into the bottom three in La Liga on Sunday night after a 5-0 thrashing at Atletico Madrid.

On from that, their Coach called a surprise Press conference on Monday morning, where he made clear that he won’t be walking away.

“Every day I have woken up with a new problem since I have been here, but Betis have been growing,” began Mel to reporters today.

“It is not possible to be satisfied and I believe that is not fair and I believe the Betis fans deserve to hear from their Coach’s mouth why I am here. I do not want days to pass before we get to the game against Levante.

“Last night was tough for me. Not for the result but for a number of reasons. I’m at a club where it cost me much to get here.

“I worked hard to be here, and I want to continue working and rewarding the fans who have never let us down. I cannot jump ship. I would be a coward, I would be a bad professional. Now I have to work harder still.

“I want to take the pressure off the players. That is why I am here. There are 14 new people in the squad, including nine who played yesterday and I want for them to each work.

“The team is bad. The unity of everyone is fundamental. It is my fault and I will explain. The job of the Coach is to create an offensive side that can create scoring chances.

“I was proud at the Santiago Bernabeu, but yesterday we had just the one chance and against Elche we were unable to. We are still working. We need to release that pressure.

“With Ruben Castro available it would have been the same. The problem is the collective. If we had Ruben Castro or not it doesn’t matter. We would have resolved the games against Lyon, Madrid and Granada. Then, because we were not a fragile team.

“In the last few games we have conceded 10 goals and the club are sufficiently prepared to avoid relegation. We must work harder, I have to explain to the footballers what to improve and to find solutions.

“It is normal that the fans are mad at me. With a tremendous audacity, I ask the fans to support Betis against Levante until the end.”

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La Liga - Club News