Valencia CF coach Gennaro Gattuso looked ahead to Sunday’s 2pm CET kickoff against Real Valladolid in his pre-match press conference.

Players available for the game against Valladolid

Kluivert has trained, but he is not at 100%. Thierry trained on the pitch, which is one more phase for treating the problem he has had. He needed to work for two or three weeks and he has not had a relapse. He continues with his work on the pitch.

Meeting with the squad

First the team met and then I spoke to them all. I really liked the talk. I have heard many things that I have read today and they are not true, such as that I told them "If the team are tired of me..." No. We have only talked about what we have to improve, about the things that we are not doing well. It has been a very positive talk. I'm very happy with it.

Bringing the ball out

The like to play football, and it is normal that when we have to choose what to do on the pitch we can make a mistake, but the team want to play that style. We also have than compete without the ball. We are lacking competing well without the ball: The second ball, pressure, pressing all together... The team have said this. They have not said that they are afraid to play.

Finding solutions

I’m very clear about what we have to do. We have to compete. Football is not just about playing the ball. It is also about knowing how to make decisions in every moment of the game. We are missing this. I know what we have to improve. The team produce chances. I like to play good football, but also when we are under pressure we can play long. We have to be prepared for second balls and we are not doing that well.

The importance of confidence

If you have played football, then you will know that, when there is a defeat like the one the other day, with the 30 years of experience that I have as a player and coach, it is normal for you to come to the press conference with a worried expression. After the game the other day, it is normal to be concerned and have doubts about what happened, because we lost a quarter final.

My thinking is always positive. This team can play and have shown it. In these past 4 months everyone has talked about the team's style and we have had incredible matches with personality.

We are just missing competing without the ball and reading the game. That is what we have to improve. If we have to play a long ball, I am not shocked, as it is part of the moment and the process we are going through. But I see the way the team train and how we prepare for the game, which is why I spoke with the players. I didn't talk to them yesterday to find out if they were with me, because I already see that in training. But it’s normal that if we are going through a negative period, we talk to find out the things we are doing wrong.

A big match

We still have many points ahead to be won. It's a tough match because we're playing against opponents in the same part of the table as us. It's an important match, but we have a lot of points to be won. We have to have our minds free, which is not easy, but it is my job, so that the team go out onto the pitch without any complexes. We will try to improve what we have to improve, which is competing without the ball.

Changing the situation

I have a lot of respect for my team, because we have done very well in many games. I am insisting that we have to compete without the ball. We are lacking the hunger to compete without the ball, to stick together, to play in the same way. The whole team are convinced that we will get out of this situation. I am also convinced. I’m not leaving. I'm here. I believe a lot in this team and we are going to improve everything, I'm sure.

The winter transfer market

I don’t talk about players who are not in my squad. Saúl is an Atletico player. Right now, the concern is not about signing players, but to be able to improve our physical, technical and tactical condition.

I have to think about tomorrow's game and I don't want to waste energy on anything else, because I have important things to think about.

If we have to sign a player, it has to be a player who has experience and value.

I spoke to Peter Lim the day before the Supercopa in Saudi Arabia. I only spoke to him in person when I was in Singapore. What I like or dislike is not important. I have a responsibility and I have to coach. That’s it. It is not important whether I like it or not. I have to work with what I have, and I have a lot of confidence with the players we have. We aren’t in a positive moment, that’s true, but we have to keep going.

Calendar

The word fear might not be the correct one. It is not fear. It is more anxiety or insecurity. Clearly, the team are going through this. It is normal because for many moments the team have been brave, but now we have gone several games without winning. We have to think about doing everything at 150%. That is the path that we have to follow.

As a coach and a player, I like playing at home more, although right now it is normal for our fans to be angry and it is normal for them to pressure us. We have to improve and start winning games, because when you don't win the fans aren't happy -and it's not easy to play at Mestalla with 45,000 people who pressure you when you make mistakes. But we have to take the step to improve.

The playing style and formation

The style is not important. I don't like 4-4-2 and I changed to 4-4-2 because we saw that the team had to do things differently. At this time, our style is not important.

For four months everyone spoke well of how the team played and how brave we were. The priority is not my ego now. The priority is to get the players in the condition to perform at 150%. My style is not important. But if the fans or everyone thinks that I only have to play long balls and defend, I don't have that in me. We have worked for 5 months in another way, on a very precise path. How can we ask the team to play completely differently from what we have worked on these past few months? A style of play is not prepared in two days.

I am not a liar. I like to talk about reality. The team are happy with the style of football we are playing, but they also know that we have to improve because it is evident that we are failing on second balls and duels, and when we have to press. That is my fault. It's not the team's fault. Competing is what we are missing. Everyone thought that we could compete only with the ball. We also have to be brave without the ball.