Enrique Martin hailed his Osasuna players for “competing from the first to last minute” of their 1-1 draw with Malaga in La Liga on Friday.
Osasuna marked their return to La Liga with a point at Malaga as new boy and former Arsenal midfielder Fran Merida scored a late equaliser to cancel out Juanpi’s earlier effort in a performance that the Coach felt demonstrated “perseverance and insistence”.
“To land [in La Liga] and get a point away from home in the first game of the season is important,” he said after the game.
“It’s a draw based on a lot of perseverance and insistence. Competing from the first to last minute has its reward, so it’s a fair and sufficient point.
“[On being forced to sit in the stands due to a ban from the dugout], it’s worse.
“Now I understand why the fans shout as they do. It’s better in the dugout as you see less and suffer less, while in the stands you see everything clearly and tell yourself, ‘my God’.”
