The President of the Club from Heliopolis accompanied Vlada Stosic in his farewell from his functions as head of the Real Betis Technical Secretariat. Guillen explained the reasons behind this decision, while taking advantage to demonstrate his confidence in the team, and their ability to get back on track in the national competition.

Vlada Stosic's dismissal: “The Board of Directors has decided to dispense with the services of Vlada Stosic. There is no need to remind anyone of the situation the first team is going through. Much to our regret, we believed this to be the best decision in the interests of Real Betis, to look to the future unequivocally focussed on turning the complicated situation the team is going through around. It is a very sad day. When things are not going well, unfortunately everything appears to be a disaster. Personally, and on behalf of the Board of Directors, I can only thank him for the years of dedication to the Club. The situation was much better in past seasons. However, things have not gone well this year. I think the Board of Directors had no choice than to adopt these measures. I thank Vlada for his honesty and involvement in the years of extreme hardship; his courage to take on a project in difficulties, when the Club's finances were burdened as a result of management decisions in previous years, paying the salaries of players brought in by previous directors of football. All that remains is for me to wish him all the luck in the world, a professional who has done his best and has given everything for this club in years of extreme difficulty. Others would not have undertaken a challenge of this nature. ¨We are governed by results and at the moment they are certainly not positive. With utter sadness, we thank Vlada for his complete dedication and honesty throughout his years of service with this club".

Decisions taken: "Having analysed the situation for some time now, the Board believes that the situation has been born out of a compendium of circumstances. There is no single reason, it is not that simple. We are acting in accordance with the analyses available to us. Based on the premise that the critical situation the first team is going through, albeit reversible requiring many decisions and application of numerous measures, is the result of many factors. This Board will never shirk its responsibility. Pepe Mel's dismissal was an unpopular measure. Vlada's dismissal today may not be so unpopular with the fans, but in football there are short memories. He should be considered for his work over the three years he was in office. This decision is not a chaotic response but the consequence of thorough analysis of the failures and shortcomings in the Technical Secretariat. Our analysis continues on a daily basis. Independently of the consequences for the Board we believe these decisions to be absolutely necessary. After this, if things continue to get worse and we believe there to be other factors affecting the teams performance, then we will continue making such decisions.

Signing Garrido: “He was amongst the list of some 30 coaches proposed by the Technical Secretariat. Garrido was chosen by consensus, always within economic parameters within which the receiver must intervene".

Do you regret any decision made?: "This is not error. The measures implanted are the result of careful investigation, we are not going to consider them as erroneous. The team has been in the relegation zone for weeks now, and for four weeks they are bottom of the league. Before the new manager came the team had won just two of the fifteen matches played. We understand the measures to have been necessary because there are many factors involved. It would not be gentlemanly, but there are many reasons that the Board now understands to have put the team in this situation. No one is uniquely responsible, and there is not a single solution. There are no regrets. I said on another occasion that we would not make drastic decisions in the hope of a miracle. They have been made in the belief that the team will change course. There are many reasons for the team being bottom of the league”.

Departures in the winter transfer market:  “There will have to be departures. Those making up the Technical Secretariat will have to make that decision”.

Future measures: “We are making previsions for diverse scenarios, we are leaving no room for improvisation. We will do whatever is necessary to change the dynamic and favour the team's performance. There is nothing more important than Real Betis Balompié and the first team”.

Signings: “We have a clear definition of the type of player who we believe should be signed. Without mentioning any names, of course we have identified the players who should be able to contribute from day one. These players are hard to come by, the negotiations will be tough. The only guarantee to sign such players on today's market is by putting money on the table we do not have. We know we are looking for very specific players. They should join the team as soon as possible, not at the end of January. It is not easy but we are trying. We have to be realistic. It is going to be difficult because Betis is not in a privileged financial situation. We would love to have more money available to resolve the situation”.

Does the Board believe the problem to be José Antonio Bosch?: “If the Board were of the opinion that José Antonio Bosch was the problem, we would have met already to decide on the matter. Often we are not able to have the perspective we should have. The Club is in receivership. It is a very serious issue. We have been through insolvency proceedings and we have an arrangement with our creditors. We would like Betis' situation to be different. Once the previous administration has taken a back seat, we all want a Betis in which there is no hindrance to sign big-name players, a Betis where the receiver would allow more signings. A Betis that had not made arrangements with our creditors for the next 8 years, in which the majority of the debt has to be returned and not having those funds at our disposal. That defines the Betis of today. Any mistake committed by this Board of Directors could lead to Betis' bankruptcy. That is the worst case scenario. All those who make up my Board of Directors deserve my gratitude for many things, but at the top of the list is their bravery for managing Betis in such a complicated situation. None of us like that but it is the reality Betis has to face up to. We are shackled to an unavoidable schedule of repayments, resulting from costs supported over many years. We want to guarantee financial viability so that the club does not disappear; in that case, those in the stands would certainly heckle us and probably kill us. We are responsible and we came here to altruistically do the best we can. Such is the Betis we inherited, not what we, and all the other Betis fans, want”.

Responsibility for signings: “The Technical Secretariat in the short term, in addition to the work done so far which I have already mentioned, it has been decided that the Technical Secretariat in conjunction with the recently appointed coaching staff, under the supervision of the Board, shall be responsible for any signings in the winter transfer market. We are convinced that the new coaching staff under contract until the end of June, has one goal, which is to ensure that next year Betis competes in the First Division. The same effort they are putting in to raising the players' morale will be replicated when agreeing on this with the other members of the technical secretariat".

Did the fans' protests affect the decision?: “The fans do not decide who is in the Club and who is not. That is the responsibility of the Board of Directors, who are ultimately responsible for measures taken and results. The Board understands that now we must seek the best possible environment to support our players. It is difficult, but not impossible, for our team to win matches if anger is focussed on them. We firmly believe that this team, with the support of all the fans will be able to save this situation. These drastic measures are aimed at achieving this without reference to the individual interests of anyone involved, whatever their intentions may be. Vlada Stosic's dismissal puts the Board of Directors on the firing line. We have a firm hand when it comes to making decisions. We are doing it for Real Betis, nothing is more important”.