Huesca coach José Luis Oltra addressed the media ahead of his side’s upcoming clash, stressing the need to end their poor away form. “Of course we want to break that dynamic. The numbers away from home don’t reflect the potential of this team. We’re going to a difficult ground, but we need to win—that’s the mentality we travel with,” he said.
Reflecting on last week’s derby victory, Oltra noted its impact: “Victory always helps morale and confidence. But the day-to-day work since I arrived has been good, and the group trains very well. We’re having a good week and preparing the match thoroughly. It was an important win given the context—a derby and our need for points. Hopefully it’s a turning point, but we must back it up with more wins.”
On areas for improvement, he added: “We’re better, but we can still grow a lot. We need to improve consistency during matches—maintain a high level for 90 minutes. We also must reduce individual errors and create more offensively. It’s not about being perfect, but about doing enough to win each game.”
Discussing defensive solidity, Oltra emphasized: “If we want good results, we have to keep clean sheets. Not conceding already gives you a chance to pick up points and then have opportunities to win. The intention is to compete well defensively, even though we know we’re not going to an easy ground against a comfortable opponent to achieve that.”
Regarding the absence of goalkeeper Dani Jiménez, he said: “It’s an important loss because Dani is a goalkeeper who earns you many points and transmits a lot. I’m clear who will play on Sunday, though I haven’t told him yet. Both Juan and Dani are working phenomenally, and I have full confidence in both.”
On defender Pulido’s fitness: “He’s trained little with the group due to hip discomfort and has done a lot of specific work. He remains a doubt as of today, but knowing Pulido and his commitment, I believe we can count on him.”
Analyzing the opponent Racing Santander, Oltra commented: “They’re a team that needs very little to finish, wins a lot of balls in the opposition half, and has incredible striking power. They have great collective functioning and decisive players. We have to be a very compact, supportive team and prevent them from feeling comfortable.”
He identified the match key: “We’re not interested in an end-to-end game. We have to compete from a position of order and hurt them when we have the ball. It all starts from good defensive work and minimizing their strengths.”
Reflecting on the derby’s post-match scuffle, Oltra remarked: “It was an unpleasant and sad situation. I had never experienced it. From day one I told the group it was a closed matter. Much more has been said about that than the victory, but we had to focus on the next game.”
Oltra aims to snap Huesca’s worst away run, with the team traveling to face Racing de Santander in LaLiga Hypermotion.