Manuel Pablo has outlined Deportivo’s issues at the moment, calling his teammates to be more intelligent and to defend as a team.
The Galicians are now bottom of the League after Week 15’s set of results that included their 6-0 defeat away to Atletico Madrid.
Ahead of hosting Real Valladolid next Monday evening, the team’s captain reflected on what has gone wrong so far for last season’s Segunda Division champions.
“The quality is there, but despite the quality we must show our worth and that is what we have to prove,” Pablo told reporters today.
“With quality alone we cannot survive. We must be smart on the field, and physical and also to be good tactically. That is what we must demonstrate.
“The results have not gone our way so far, it is clear too what the main problem is, the defence, and together we have to work harder at the back.
“It is not that the team goes a goal down and cannot still play its game, but it does not help us, on the contrary, it is a bother.
“We must all have the same desire to defend as we do to attack. The philosophy of the Coach is to play out with the ball, but not to attack without defending. He insists that.
“We have to be better prepared mentally, be more attentive, work together. In attack, yes we are fine.”
The full-back was in the Depor team under Miguel Angel Lotina that was in a similar situation in 2007-08 and after a game against Real Valladolid knew that they could turn things around.
“In the first year with Lotina we knew we had to react and that that was the time to do it. The feelings now are not good, they were not good then, but the team made a radical change.
“Yes, changing to a back five did come in handy then, but you have to do what the team is capable of and use a system that the players we have can play in.
“Valladolid come into this game in good form and us in bad form. It will be difficult. You can win or lose games because of details and we are currently losing. Valladolid are a team that plays well in attack and is defending better than us.
“We have to be smart and to stop with the impulsive decisions, so that we can start winning and stop losing in a short space of time.”
