Being only one point above relegation with 12 days to go makes Espanyol live hours of enormous concern. Diego Martínez’s team, accustomed to playing with fire this season, has again come dangerously close to the abyss after three consecutive defeats. The last one, at home against Celta, marked a before and after in terms of the relationship between the stands and the coach. Until now the quorum was total. Nobody had discussed the figure of Vigo. But the mess is such that the first requests for resignation were made.
In the club the concern is deep. The positive results do not come after being the team that has invested the most in the winter market and the stoppage of selections will lengthen the feeling of unease. Despite all the pressure, the club ensures that there is no decision to assess because the man from Vigo will continue in his position. But the situation is limit and the next hours could be decisive. In any case, the last decision will be made by the owner of the club, the Chinese Chen Yansheng.
The numbers are very alarming. At home the accounts do not come out and it is already the second worst team in the League at home, only after Elche. Defense is another major concern, since with 42 goals conceded it is the third team with the most goals against in the championship.
But what bothers the most is the team’s inability to even compete against direct rivals in the last days. Against Almería, Valladolid and Celta, the blue and white team fell embarrassingly. Against the Galicians it was in their own half in a game in which failing meant a big step backwards.
In addition, there are clearly negative dynamics that the coach has not been able to reverse, as it may be that he has only come to rest winning once in 24 days or that he has not come back from a game to win. Both statistics speak of the coach’s difficulties in influencing matches, beyond the fact that on several occasions they have managed to get into the game in the final minutes.
The equality that exists in the lower part of the classification has harmed those of de Martínez. With 27 points in 26 games, few teams would be so close to relegation in other Leagues. This fact, still being in positions of salvation, is the burning nail that the sports management clings to in order not to make a decision that has never been so close to taking place as now.
