Fran Escriba has mused that Villarreal are ‘the better team’ for today’s Cup clash, but that his Elche have previously performed well against them.
Los Franjiverdes face a Valencian Community derby with the Yellow Submarine today, as they head out for the first leg of their Copa del Rey Round of 32 meeting.
For their Coach, the competition will not be a lower priority.
“We do not want to throw away the Cup, it is an important competition and is the shortest way for us to achieve success,” Escriba has considered this week.
“The Cup is a match that lasts 180 minutes, facing the first 90 minutes with patience and tranquillity. Scoring a goal gives you a lot to take into the second leg, so we want to be offensive.”
Elche
“Even though we played recently in the League and it was close, they are not the most appetising of opponents.
“They have a better team than us, but it was the case in the Segunda Division last year and we beat them.
“Their transitions are tremendous and very dangerous, there are many of their players to look out for.
“There might be some changes to the team, but we will not change the entire team. It will depend on the state of the players.”
Escriba picked up the Coach of the Year award for the Segunda Division 2012-13 at the LFP awards this week.
“Last year I said I would swap all the records to be promoted and this year I would change all the prizes for survival.”
