Quique Sánchez Flores believes Alavés can step up at San Mamés

Quique Sánchez Flores, head coach of Deportivo Alavés, spoke at a press conference in Vitoria this Friday to preview the league match that his side will play tomorrow at San Mamés against Athletic Club. Despite arriving on the back of two consecutive defeats, the coach insisted he remains calm and knows where the issues come from.

San Mamés as a benchmark

He said that going to San Mamés is always “uncomfortable” because of the way Athletic press and raise the tempo, but also “an impressive stimulus”. He pointed out that Alavés won there last season and believes they can reach that level again, urging his team to produce their best by managing the “small details”. (as reported by MARCA)

Quique also addressed the physical side. With three games in about a week, he said they had to think about how to distribute the workload since not every player can handle all matches. After “putting a lot of weight” into the first two fixtures, he expects legs to be heavy for some players, even though others who have played less may feature because “we have a lot of confidence in the squad”.

Tactical focus

On the Athletic side, he described them as dangerous thanks to their dynamism, speed and pressure, and noted that beyond the coaching change, the attacking structure has also shifted.

At the same time, he stressed that the midfield is where games are defined. Since Alavés play with two strikers, there are fewer players involved in building attacks, so the team must “flow differently” to get the ball to the forwards in the best conditions. (MARCA)

Fix the details

Asked about the recent run, he argued that winning three of their first four games felt surprising at the time, and that they are aware they are not always getting it right. “We are sixth in the table and that’s great,” he said, adding that they have missed some details in the last two rounds and that he does not see any opponent “worse than us”. He also flagged how defensive shifting can lag when playing with a four-man back line versus a five-man one, and warned that when the team is not intense together, it gives the opponent advantages.