Deportivo de La Coruna boss Jose Luis Oltra admitted that the 2-0 loss to Sevilla at Riazor had been a ‘painful’ one.
It was the first time this season the newly-promoted Galicians had been beaten and Oltra made it clear he had nothing to reproach his players for.
“I was very pleased with the team’s performance. It is a painful result because it is a home defeat, but nobody can say anything about my players,” he told the post-match Press conference.
“We did everything to win and there is no blame attached to any of them. During the week we asked for courage, to be solid, and that is what we got in the first half.
“During the break I asked for a little more but the opposition scored and later got a fortunate goal.
“A team does not live on its image but the results it gets, although the fans cannot be dissatisfied with the effort or the football we played.”
Oltra went on to say that he thought the score was ‘excessive punishment’ for his players and said he ‘would rather give off a bad image and win every game’, whilst also praising Michel’s Sevilla side.
“They are a quality side that is so far meeting all expectations and will fight for a European place, including the Champions League, but we showed we can stand up to them.
“We did more things well than not so well, but I’d prefer us to do things well and win,” added Oltra, who admitted Depor have four testing fixtures coming up – visits to Real Madrid, Rayo Vallecano and Celta Vigo and a home game against Barcelona.
“We must face these games in a relaxed manner and compete in every one of them. This week’s game against Real Madrid will be different because of the impact it has but we’ll prepare for it the way we would any other game.
“We’ll go there, try to play well and compete,” he concluded.
