‘Midday games no problem for Betis’

Pepe Mel has insisted that midday kick-offs are no problem for Real Betis ahead of Sunday’s early game against Rayo Vallecano – their second in a row.

La Liga’s decision to play matches at 12:00 CET has come under scrutiny from some quarters, with the time perceived by many to be too early, especially with foreign broadcasters in mind, but the Coach does not see it as an issue.

“I’ve been back many times, the fans are fond of me and I am of them,” the former Rayo boss said at a Press conference.

“I spent four years there and it’ll be a great match because I’m going back to my city.

“Still, I’m only focused on my job and it’d be important to reach the international break with three points.

“We have to discover where we need to be stronger and where our qualities are better utilised.

“No away game is easy, but we’ve come to get a result and we hope that to be the case.

“In La Liga, when you play teams with intensity [like Rayo] and you don’t match their intensity, you’ll be out of the game and without a chance of winning.

“There’s no other way to play football, but the players are aware of this.

“Rayo are a team who use the ball well, not afraid to impose their game and play with intensity in transitions.

“They have exciting players such as Jozabed, [Roberto] Trashorras, [Adri] Embarba, Bebe…

“They’re a team who have started the season well with the same Coach, and their identity hasn’t changed.

“We played a lot of games in La Segunda at 12pm, so both Rayo and Betis are accustomed to it, and it served us well last week.

“Perhaps the most difficult times are 4pm because you have to eat later. The TV companies have the right to put games on at the time they see fit.”

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