Mel: Injuries not an excuse

Pepe Mel says he will not refer to the absences of Rafael van der Vaart and Juan Vargas if Real Betis lose to Sporting Gijon in Sunday’s early kick-off.

The pair were not included in the squad which travelled to Asturia for the battle of the new boys, but the Coach is in no mood to look for excuses as he instructed his side to work hard for the win.

“It’s a difficult game and we’ll have to work hard in order to pull off the win,” he said at a Press conference.

“We’re approaching the game in the same way as all the others [despite the loss of Van der Vaart and Vargas].

“[Sporting] are playing with almost the exact same team who won promotion, and they’ve been very serious in their approach, showing a lot of rhythm in their games.

“[On their emphasis on youth], they’ve been playing together with the same Coach for a while and know [his philosophy] by heart.

“If you take away the five goals we conceded against Real Madrid, we’ve conceded three and this is considered a normal average.

“I’ve asked my team to stay close-knit so we can defend as well as possible.

“[On Betis’ perceived dependency on Ruben Castro], all teams rely on their strikers.

“If Ruben gets 20 goals and the others also score a lot then it’s better for Real Betis.

“[On Van der Vaart’s injury], the most important thing is that he recovers and regains his fitness. He’ll only help us this way.”

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