Bernardo: “If we demand it, the referees must also be at their best”

Team sensations

“We face the week with the hopes set in our goal. Right now what comes to mind is all year, with situations in which we have been worse, being penultimate even in the standings. That’s why we need to place a lot of value on how we are now, where we’ve come from, and how close we are to catching our goal. Playing another playoff would be amazing. It seems that being close to it or entering it every year is easy and it is not at all, not by a long shot ”.

“It simply came to our notice then. The confidence is maximum, doing the work that touches. The feeling of the matches is that we are very close to winning. Our goal is to end up being one of the top six, so we have to digest the defeat, working for Sunday’s game. We have to improve on the details that did not allow us to win despite playing a very serious game the other day, doing a lot of things well and having a lot of chances to score. This is against a rival who is one of the least generous.

The match at the Molinón

“I’ve been at Sporting for many years and I know we’ll find a fan who lives football in an incredible way. He will be with your team because you need him. We will find a spectacular football atmosphere, a needy rival, located in a standings where no one thought they would be there. Sporting will have to fight three finals to achieve permanence. I knew that the last days of the league always determine the situation of each team. And we got there with chances to catch the target. We will have to rub our best level, our best football and have the greatest success, and go there to win because we are one step away from qualifying for a new promotion. We know of the added difficulty because they are playing permanence, which will make it even more complicated. It will be a spectacular match, for me it is always special to be back there “.

The role of the most veterans

“We are here to provide as much grain of sand as possible. On a day like today I said it to more than one teammate: we must remember that we are fifth in the standings. We must not lose perspective, there are seventeen teams that would like to be where we are. Months ago we were downhill ourselves. Let them not take away what we have, which has taken us a long time to get here. So calm down, the team is playing well and we are not deviating from the idea that the group has. It is the best guarantee to face the remaining games with a winning mentality. From now on, it’s time to dump her and move on. We have to give value to the play-offs and we will be proud if we succeed again ”.

Harmed by arbitration?

“I have always said in these kinds of questions that the referees are trying to do justice, so we can’t feel any less harmed. They never try to benefit any team or harm them. However, it is clear that their decisions can make a difference. The other day, against Tenerife, there may or may not be a penalty that can turn into a goal play; how can it be or not that we get a ball that went into goal. In situations like this and in others the VAR is when it should come in. If he’s there it’s for him to help us when live they can overlook us depending on what things. We do not ask for help, nor do we ask for things to be hidden from us. We need a better performance from the referees, if what we do is demand that we be at the highest level to face the three finals we have left. Well, they should also be at their best. Complaining can have consequences, so this will not be my case. I always try to get a little iron out about these matters, even though it’s clear that when it happens once, and again, and again… When history repeats itself several times and over a season, the situation becomes complicated to bear. Now is not the time to throw more wood into the fire, but to encourage them to do the best they can. ”