Luis García Plaza says his side have returned for pre-season motivated for the new campaign ahead of our first friendly fixture against UD Poblense on Sunday afternoon.
We have been putting in the hard yards as preparations continue for the upcoming LaLiga season, although the boss has been impressed with how his squad reported for duty following a few weeks of vacation.
"They have all arrived very well,” he told journalists at a pre-match press conference. “We are very excited and eager and have been since the first day. We are doing a pretty hard pre-season.”
"I'm not thinking about how many points it will take to stay in the league - I’m only thinking about the first game against Real Betis. I have a lot of confidence in my team. We're going to give a lot of fight and we're going to surprise many Primera División sides.
“Our idea of the game will not change, but it is clear that the First Division is another level. We must be able to change and adapt to the rival.”
Former Chelsea, Liverpool and England forward Daniel Sturridge has been training with the senior squad for the past week, and while the boss has been impressed with the 31-year-old, Plaza has stressed it is only an invitation to train for the time being.
"Sturridge is going to start training with us and later we will see what happens,” he continued. “We want him to feel comfortable. He is a player who was a top player but who has been out of action for a while."
