Luis García Plaza says we will have to be at our best to get three points ahead of our trip to Almería on Thursday evening.
We travel to the Estadio de Mediterráneo yet to lose since the opening day of the season, although the boss has warned against complacency in anticipation of a side which has not been defeated in their previous 10 fixtures.
"We have respect for Almeria because right now they are the most fearsome opponents in the SmartBank League,” he told journalists at his pre-match press conference ‘They have 26 points from the last 30. It's a team that started badly and they have recovered in a spectacular way. They play very well and want the ball. It is the team with best physical level in the division and a team made for promotion - we have to take the ball from them for as long as possible.
"Getting points is always important, especially at this stage, but we always go out to win as Almeria are surely going to do as well. When the match is over, if we have managed to draw, we will assess whether it is a good result or not depending on how the match went."
With back-to-back fixtures every few days during a hectic December fixture schedule, the boss expects the push for promotion to get even tighter at the top of the table.
"There's a lot of equality,” he continued. “There will be tough moments for us, but the important thing is not the distance over the rest of the rivals, but to stay on top. There are only two places for direct promotion and teams with great potential are going to be left out.”
Having scored his first professional goal during our 4-0 victory of Logroñés on Matchday 15, the boss shared his thoughts on Luka Romero after he became the second-youngest goalscorer in Segunda División history.
"Luka's reaction at the goal celebration shows what he is: a child,” he said. “He's a kid with a good head on his shoulders. You have to go slowly with him and take good care of him - he is still a child. The idea is to make room for him so that next year he has more options to play.”
