Gracia: "We are aspiring to go into Christmas with three more points to our name"

Before Valencia CF's LaLiga game against Sevilla FC, coach Javi Gracia spoke to the media in his pre-match press conference on Monday.

Constant ambition

"Our motivation and ambition is always to do better. We always want more and we are aspiring to go into Christmas with three more points to our name. There is no time like the present, and if we work on the present I think we can have a better future."

Sevilla FC

"They are great opponents, who are playing at a high level in all competitions. They have a great squad, as you would expect with them competing in all of those competitions. They have different resources, as well as some absentees due to injuries. They have several ways of playing, with fast players, players who are physically big, skillfull players...  As a team they they are very well organised and are powerful from set pieces. They are a very complete team, with players with a lot of experience who handle any facet of the game very well. That makes them a very competitive side."

The ability to react

"The team's reactions when they have gone behind have been very good. They show their pride and their ability to react. It is also true that there have been games in which we have started badly. All matches are important, points are vital and that's how we face each game. After that, there are characteristics of each opposing team that make the matches happen go one way or another, and that either makes it difficult or helps us to feel more comfortable. It is possible that we are more comfortable when the opponents take the initiative, but we are also working to be comfortable with the ball."

Set pieces

"We try to look at the details of set pieces. The goal that we scored the other day came from a corner that we had prepared. In Vitoria it came from a free kick that we had trained. We want to continue working on this aspect of the game. On the other hand, we also want to improve our amount of goals from open play."

Going game-by-game

"All points are worth the same amount. The results against teams higher up the table have been better than against other sides, but we don't give more importance to any game over another. The important thing is finding the path to finally get good results. We try to focus on the next game and I think it is the best way for us to be ambitious and go as far as possible."

Seeking improvement

"Given how closely matched the division is, it is more important to seek improvement than looking to move one position higher or lower. In the medium term you will be able to enjoy a better position that way. I can see the date and the differences between the teams: Whoever wants to be pessimistic will see the gap to the relegation places, and whoever is optimistic will see that by winning a game we will get closer to the top positions. I prefer to be optimistic and realistic."

Bringing back players from injury

"Racic has been sidelined and we are going to see how he progresses. The others will not be available yet. They will need more time, although I think they will be back soon. Hugo Guillamón is in the process of recovering and I think he's close. In the re-adaptation process we thought that he would be ready earlier, but we had a setback and so we changed to a slower process with him."