Rioja: "We have to resolve this now"

Luis Rioja spoke to VCF Media after the 3-1 defeat to RC Deportivo de A Coruña in LaLiga.

The game

“Today’s defeat is completely unacceptable. We came out without the right attitude; we practically didn’t get into the game at the start. They had to hit us hard several times in order for us to react. An opposition mistake can get you back into the game; you have five or ten good minutes where you can equalise, and then they rallied again in the second half, which we also didn’t start well. If you’re not at 100%, if you don’t go into the game wanting to win and compete, with that fighting spirit and determination you need, you’re not going to beat anyone.”

The halftime instructions

“We tried to make some tactical adjustments, but honestly, there wasn't anything to adjust. This is about pride and competition, about giving it your all on the pitch, and that's what was missing today. You can make mistakes, but you can't compromise the ethics of football and sport, which is to compete at 100% and leave everything out there on the pitch. We all lacked that, myself included. We need to take a hard look at ourselves. You always have to give 100% and finish games completely exhausted.”

The next game against FC Barcelona

“Today is not the time to look at the next opponents. This is my third season here, and the same thing happened to us in the other two. We have to correct this right now. We've talked about it and tried to fix it. We've had two very bad first halves of respective seasons, followed by two very good second halves, and that's preventing us from being a much better and more competitive team. We have time to resolve this, but we have to do it now.”