Garitano: This is a final and we know we must set out to win

Eibar coach Gaizka Garitano has stressed that Sunday's game away at Racing Santander at El Sardinero “is a final” and that “we know we must set out to win”.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the clash against Racing Santander, the coach insisted that his side are playing well right now, “experiencing one of our best moments of play of the season”, but that they need to win.

ON THIS GAME BEING A FINAL

“This is a final, a game we have to win. We know we must set out to win it and we’re prepared to do so.”

“Now it's important not to doubt our abilities, what we are doing. There are always things to improve, but looking at the recent performances I feel our team is more than alive. We’re playing well, even better than at some other periods when we were winning many games in a row. We’re playing well and creating chances and not conceding much. But, it’s true that we’re not winning and we have to be better with the little details that we can still improve on. That’s something we must do and I think the team is ready.”

ON GETTING BACK TO WINNING WAYS

“It's important that we still have it in our hands these last three rounds. We want to win because if we don’t win then it won’t be in our hands. We don't have much room for error, so we must get a good result that allows us to depend on ourselves in the last two games.”

“We are not scoring goals and that's where we have to improve because football is about goals and if you don't score you don't win games. The important thing is to keep creating chances, keep pressing in the opposition half, keep dominating the game and keep conceding little to the opposition. Sooner or later, things will fall into place.”

“The way we've been playing in the last month and a half, it's not normal that we didn’t win any of these games.  We've won in the past when not playing so well, but now we’re experiencing one of our best moments of play of the season, conceding very little or nothing to the opposition. It's true that there's an undeniable rule here: you have to win and we're not winning.”

ON THE TEAM’S STYLE

“We have a style that has brought us this far. There are three games left and we have the most points, tied with Las Palmas, so it wouldn't make much sense to change the way we play now. We always change the little nuances day by day, such as the way we press or the way we get the ball out, depending on which players are playing, depending on which opponents we have. We always adjust those nuances day by day and we'll change them again in Santander. The core of the team is very difficult to change because we have been doing well and because, despite the fact that we haven't won for some time, my feeling is that the team is much closer to winning than losing.”

ON RACING SANTANDER

“They are a team that has improved a lot. With José Alberto, they are very good. They have a lot of talent in midfield, a lot of very good players, capable of scoring goals and making good plays. They are a very effective team and, when they play in the final third, they have three to four very good players. They are working very well as a unit and at home, in front of their fans and with the stadium almost always full, it's a very favourable atmosphere for them. It's a very nice fixture to play.”

ON EIBAR’S TRAVELLING SUPPORT

“We have always had the fans behind us, in good times and in bad times. We get a lot of energy from them, they help us a lot. They keep pushing and cheering because they see that the team feels it. When you see a team that is giving their all, they give it to us too. We thank them, we have always been together and we will always be together. Hopefully, everyone who goes to Santander and those who stay in Eibar can enjoy a good day out and we can win. They deserve it.”

“The important thing is that we all do our part and we're going to see if we can give them a win in Santander. We're playing for something very beautiful. There's been a tremendous amount of excitement and it's not easy to get to this point. We feel very close to the fans. This is a club where you know all the fans personally, as they come to training like they did the other day. You meet them in the street and you suffer with them and you celebrate with them. We are all in the same boat and that's nice. Hopefully we can give them some joy.”