Eduardo Berizzo has hailed Saturday’s Galician derby between Deportivo La Coruna and Celta Vigo as “a source of pride” for the region.
Both sides head to Riazor in the top half of La Liga, with Celta fourth and Depor ninth after 11 games, and the Coach revealed he was treating the match like a final.
“I’m expecting a difficult but closely-contested derby,” he said at a Press conference.
“The derby’s between two teams who are in good form. We’re doing well and Deportivo have a very good record in the League.
“It’s good to have a derby with both teams near the top of the table. That has to be a source of pride for Galicia.
“When you play games like this, like a final, where the expectation is very high, you must make an effort to find the necessary balance in order to play it in the best way you know how.
“If you're below that level, the game bypasses you. We have to focus on doing what we know best.
“When we think of something else, which isn’t our game plan, we don’t do very well.
“We’re never interested in a game in which we allow control to slip away.
“We want to have the ball and not let our opponents use it, otherwise we’ll waste a lot of energy.
“Lucas Perez is in great form and Deportivo’s defence has strength and experience.
“If they let us take the initiative then we’ll take advantage of it, but Deportivo are a team who excel in many aspects.
“We need to be close-knit in our approach and apply pressure.”
