‘La Real players didn’t understand Moyes’

Real Sociedad sporting director Loren pointed to David Moyes’ inability to connect with the squad as the reason why his tenure ended early.

Loren has spoken to Marca about the situation at Anoeta, with it noted that exactly a year earlier he spoke to the same reporter to mark Moyes’ appointment.

“Not in the worst forecasts did we think we were going to be in this situation,” Loren admitted.

“A Coach who spent 10 years at Everton was coming and who had a high capacity, but we haven’t been capable, all of us, players and technical staff, of making the team successful and he couldn’t be here more than a year.

“I think the Coach didn’t find the key to getting more from the players and they failed to understand what he wanted from them in matches. They’re all below their level and should have given more.

“It’s true the club made an effort to re-sign Carlos Vela, to return Asier Illarramendi and to sign a credible forward such as Jonathas, to add to the players we already had, but it wasn’t enough.

“The most pleasant of the signings has been Diego Reyes. Jonathas has barely been able to contribute because of Imanol Agirrexte, but we have two high level forwards in the squad.

“There’s no problem with Vela. He’s happy here and the better the team is, the happier he’ll be. Transfers are a possibility in football, but we’ve got no fear with him.

“I fear when players aren’t happy and I believe that he is.”

Loren was asked if there were any changes he’d make to the squad in terms of personnel, and replied that the names in the group aren’t the reason for poor results.

“What I would do is increase the performance of all of them. Let’s see if Eusebio [Sacristan] is able to get the best out of his players,” he continued.

“We’ve watched him since his time as an assistant at Barcelona we I knew him personally. It was clear that, at this time, he was the best Coach for this squad.”

Loren did though deny that Eusebio is his appointment and Moyes was more driven by President Jokin Aperribay.

“The two Coaches have been chose by La Real, because we have all decided on them, first Moyes and now Eusebio,” he stressed.

“I won’t tire of saying that, with Moyes or any other Coach, decisions [on signings] are consensual. We didn't sign a single player the Coach didn’t say he wanted.

“Right now we have no intention of signing in January. We’re focused on the 25 first team players performing their best, and the B team as well, is a step to take.”

Tags David Moyes Eusebio Sacristan Loren
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