Luis de la Fuente, the new Spanish coach, gave explanations without making any self-criticism after the defeat in Glasgow, in his second game in charge of the red: “It is a painful defeat because we have done many things well. I keep those positive things and I am delighted with the attitude of the players”.
For the coach, “there is no reproach for the players. At this level anything penalizes you. I am left with the feeling of having had clear ideas. We have sown and an important seed remains.”
Asked about his lack of self-criticism, he commented: “You can always change things and improve. You have to work more and we’ll put it into practice when we have time. I bet on this group a thousand times over.”
Among the Spanish players, Rodri was one of the first to go before the microphones: “They have scored the two they had. We have tried: two posts, plenty of clear chances in the first half… You have to be careful with those oversights , that with these teams they are paid. Everything came out for them. We can’t start with doubts, please,” he said.
David García, the Osasuna centre-back, one of the rookies, complained about the pitch: “It was bad, the ball bounced a lot, but we can’t make excuses. The defeat, in any case, has been too hard.”
Mikel Merino wanted to extract some positive lesson: “”It is a difficult night for us because we came with enthusiasm. I think we have given a good image today. In the first part we have given signs of what we want to achieve. We tried it with more direct balls and lateral crosses. If we had put any of them… It is a way of learning in a new stage. It will be good for us in the future.”
