12.05.2007 14:15
Sandra Sarmiento
The FC Barcelona coach wants “a reaction on pitch” from his team against Betis. Frank Rijkaard admitted “we have to win back the confidence of our support.”
“Thursday was a tough night, but we have to move on.” Frank Rijkaard is conscious of
the implications of the defeat at the hands of Getafe: “We gave a bad image. We owe the fans
and the club. We have to win back their confidence.” With this message, the coach hopes for a
reaction from his team in order to preserve their lead in the Liga. “The fans are important
to us and we know it is up to us to do something in order to receive their support.”
Betis
Luis Fernandez is experiencing a delicate situation and will be looking to come away with
something from Betis’ visit to the Camp Nou on Sunday. “If we train with pride and
leave a good impression, we will have possibilities of increasing team moral.” This being the
objective of the blaugrana, where Rijkaard knows “Betis is a difficult team, but we have to
concentrate and achieve our objectives: win points, win difficult games and make our fans happy.
These are enough reasons for us to concentrate on what we have to do.”
The Liga title
Frank Rijkaard works in silence to achieve his objectives. Prudence has always been his
trademark and for him, the most important thing at the moment is to win 3 points against Betis.
“We work to win the Liga. I don’t speak of results because the team will win what it
deserves. All the players want to win, but we have to suffer, fight and react on pitch.”
Control of the team
Asked whether he was controlling the team in the right way, Rijkaard responded “all
opinions have to be respected. We’ve always worked in a way we’ve seen right. When
something doesn’t work, decisions have to be made. Up until now, we are satisfied; however,
we are fully aware of what we need to do in order to make our fans happy.”
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