Following training in Saudi Arabia, Valencia CF coach Albert Celades and player José Luis Gayà spoke to the media in their pre-match press conference. The team meet Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa on Wednesday night.

The focus for the team
"We are focused on the game and not thinking about anything else. We can't control anything else and so we have to adapt. We have a match against very difficult opponents, who have great defensive solidity besides their attacking talent."
 

Absent players
"We've had a lot of difficulties for a long time in terms of players out, and we've tried to adapt to the situation. Rodrigo is an important absentee for us, and we will try to minimise the effect of his absence as much as possible."

The plan for the match
"Now we're playing at a neutral venue. Our idea is to go out there with the best mentality possible and compete to the fullest. We have a very big challenge ahead of us and we see it as an opportunity. We won't be thinking about the game on Sunday ahead of time, because we have enough to deal with when looking at tomorrow's game. We are up against one of the best teams and we are focused on the semifinal."
 

The approach to the game
"We have a clear reference point from a few weeks ago, and we know what we have to do. We had a serious chance of winning that game, but every match is different."

"We're facing this game with the utmost excitement; there's a trophy at stake. This is a competition with a new format, and to win you have to beat two great sides, but if you want a trophy then it's worth fighting for it. All four sides are going to want to win, and there is no player on any team who doesn't want a trophy."
 

The new format
"Football evolves. We're delighted to be here; there's a trophy at stake and we're going to fight for it. We have to perform at our best if we want to win the Supercopa."

Lessons from the LaLiga game
"You can't relax for a second against Real Madrid. It seemed as if everything was under control, and then they equalised off a corner. If we want to win, then we will have to be focused for the entire game. This competition is going to require us to win two games in order to lift the trophy, but we are the Copa del Rey winners and we are going to go out there with that ambition."