Gattuso: “We had a good performance with a great mentality from the first to the 95th minute”

Valencia CF’s head coach Gennaro Gattuso gave his post-match press conference after Valencia CF- Real Betis on Matchday 14 of LaLiga. 

Has it been the best performance by the team? What have you said to the players? 

I congratulated the team and that’s it. We’ve had many good performances. We put in a good performance from the first few minutes until the 95th minute. The team have been on the right path for three games now.     

Was Lino's incident of him taking on his marker at 0-0 and earning a sending off the key to the game? 

We played wide and then we played narrow. With 11 against 11, we also made the breaking runs very well and ran into spaces.  

Today, we got our shots away from the outside of the box 4-5 times. I think we did well. It wasn't easy because, although Betis were missing important players, they are always a dangerous team.  

In the first half, they had several counterattacks, but we played well with a great mentality. I look at this team and it's a spirited team. We haven't been through a positive few weeks because when you don't win it's normal, but when I said that the team are alive it's the truth. I'm not talking for the sake of talking, I'm speaking the truth. 

Was it important for the team to take the weight off its shoulders by achieving this victory? 

I know the work I'm doing. It's important for the team to be calm. I don't have any weight on my shoulders. There is no pressure on me. 

I live with pressure. I don't know how to live without pressure. I look at the stats. You can talk about everything, but I know very well the work we are doing. At the end of the season, we'll talk about everyone. 

Was this Valencia CF's best game so far this season? 

I don't think so. It depends on how you look at the game. The team played well, and we pressed well, but it helped a lot that Betis played with ten men. I think the team have played 4-5 games like that this season. I think the game against Atletico was the best we've played. 

It means nothing to me, but I am very happy with the team. If the results don't come, people look at the coach, but for me it doesn’t matter. I have no need to look. I'm happy with the team,  I’m going to go the extra mile for the team. They give me life in training. I still have a lot of time and a lot of matches. It's normal for me to be happy.

Tomorrow you are going to Singapore. The other time you said that neither your wife nor you liked this trip. Now do you like it more because of the proximity to the transfer market? What do you expect to happen? 

I am going to Singapore and when I come back I will say what happened. If nothing happens, I won't talk about anything. 

What do you think about the people who supported the team until the end in the rain? 

I have to say 'thank you' 1,000 times over. It is unbelievable. When we play here it is difficult for the opponents. I am proud of the fans. I have to thank them on behalf of myself and the club. When we come back in December we will continue in the same vein. 

A few days ago you said that there were people who wanted the team to lose. Today you say there is criticism.

I don't look at anything. I don't listen to anything. I think that at the moment, and I repeat myself, you can do what you want, but the reality is the work we are doing,  it is not being respected. Look at football and why we don't win, but it doesn't make me angry. You can do what you like. 

You have said that when you come back from Singapore you will tell us what happened in the meeting. From what you can tell us, would you like Peter Lim to tell you that he has the financial availability to make signings? 

That's a question for the sporting director. Talk to him when he comes back from Singapore and ask him. 

I wanted to ask you what you have said to Cenk during the week and how do you rate his game today? 

I think against Real Sociedad and the previous game I talked about Hugo Duro, who has been in discomfort for a long time and I had to thank him for his effort. He has been training hard. He is a player I like a lot. I have a lot of faith in Hugo but he has to rest. Now we have two weeks off and I hope he works well so that he is back at full fitness when we come back.