Before setting off for Lugo, where Real Betis Balompié will play the next league match tomorrow, Juan Merino held a press conference at the Benito Villamarín Stadium. The Betis first team manager analysed the team's recently found form, in addition to other issues relating to the immediate future.

The team is off to Lugo after two consecutive league wins: “The idea any manager has is for the team to gradually grow, assimilating his ideas. We have managed to get the main thing, results, which gives you the confidence to continue working in the same direction. We have not given a thought to the fact that we have won two matches, but about the forthcoming match, another final that we are enthusiastic about. It is a tough ground. We have to be 100% prepared, those who are to play and the others on the bench”.

You you already know what the starting eleven is going to be?: “I do. I won't say anything because the players don't know anything yet. I will post the line-up tomorrow. The match is not prepared just in tomorrow's talk, we have spent the whole week preparing it. We know we are going to play at a difficult ground. I have made my decisions, tomorrow you'll see”.

Fabián: “I am fortunate enough to know the player really well from Betis B and despite only being 18 he has progressed tremendously. Sooner or later he will be in the first team. He is a player that brings youth, that spirit that lads who are coming up through the ranks have, enthusiasm and desire. His natural position is offensive pivot, placing a physical toll on rivals which is of great benefit to the team. He can score, he is quite a complete player. I am sure that now as well as in the future he will be good for Betis”.

On a personal level, is this match any different to the others?: “For me the enthusiasm is the same, I am making the most of each day as it comes. I recharge my batteries each night so that I can transmit my enthusiasm to the players the next day and what I want them to do. I have the same spirit and enthusiasm as the first day”.

Your time on the bench: “We are going to do all we can to win. That is my hope, nothing else beyond that. To do so would just wear me down. I feel strong, and I am sure of the decisions I have to take. And I will continue to take them right up to the last moment I am here”.

What feedback are you getting from the Club?: “I feel that there is total confidence. I have felt that from the first day. I notice their protection, because of the trust they placed in me. How long it lasts doesn't matter, all I want is to win. The confidence they have deposited in me I have to transmit to the players in order to get good results. I think about tomorrows match, not in how long I'll be here”.

How many more matches will you be managing the team?: “No matter what we read, nothing is sure. The Club asked for my help by making me manager. Selfishly would have preferred other things, like having secured my job. I am not worried about the outcome or if I will go back to Betis B or not. At the moment I am in the first team and I am giving it my all. We all hope the team will win. I have no worries on other issues. My only focus is on the team, I do not know if it will be for 1, 2 or 3 more matches. I don't worry about that. As long as I am here I have got to give 100% of myself”.

If you do not stay in the first team will you continue at the Club?: “When I moved up to the first team I did not consider the contract or the period. All I had was the greatest of enthusiasm to do a good job and give it my all as a coach. I paid no heed to test or numbers. That is not valid, the Club is above all of us. I am trying to do the best I can and give my all for this Club”.

CD Lugo, your rival tomorrow: “They know what they have to do, they have made it clear in every training session. CD Lugo have hardly ever lost a home match. They have followed the same philosophy for some time now, all teams have difficulty beating them at home. They are normally in possession of the ball. We know full well what we have to do. We must be convinced of our ability to win, and we will be. We are not thinking about the two consecutive wins, we are focussing on the conviction that if we continue working well and we have the right mindset, we have a lot going for us to come away with a victory”.

Will the match be very different to the King's Cup game?: “They are a different team when they play at home and when they play away. Nearly all the points they have they got at home matches. We are going to come up against a more difficult team that the one we faced in the King's Cup. Apart from the fact that they play well, they are getting results in their home ground and they are getting continuity in their game. We have to be strong defensively. They may have more possession of the ball because they have worked on that for a number of years now. That doesn't mean anything, possession has to be accompanied with finishing power. We know where we are going to play, we are prepared”.

Signings in the winter market : “We are up against an important match and we do not know if Merino will be here or not, that is something I cannot say. Merino will give the names of those who should be considered by the Club. The Club will know, of my experience and my knowledge of the team, the Club will know. But there is no need to get ahead of ourselves, another manager might come along with completely different ideas”.