Defender Raul Rodriguez says his fellow Espanyol players are not ‘anxious’ but ‘optimistic’ following their poor start to the season.
Los Periquitos have taken just one point from the opening four fixtures and Rodriguez [pictured, right], who has asked the fans to be patient as the team sits next-to-bottom of La Liga, issued a rallying cry.
“Those who don’t trust us will have time to realise their mistake because the next few results will see us proved right.
“There will be good news if we keep playing as we have done. The team has developed a lot since the start of the season,” he told a Press conference.
Espanyol’s next three games see them travel to Real Betis and Real Valladolid with a home clash against Atletico Madrid in between, but Rodriguez feels they are games where Mauricio Pochettino’s men can pick up points.
“We’ll be fighting to win all three and I’m convinced that we can. The way we are playing does not correspond to what the results tell us.
“We must play for 90 minutes the way we do in the first half of games.”
Finally, Rodriguez said he was looking forward to fellow centre-back Diego Colotto’s return to action after he fractured a metatarsal bone in his left foot during a pre-season game with Gimnastic de Tarragona in late July.
“One player does not change the way a team works collectively, but on the other hand it would be foolish to think a player like him cannot help us to improve,” he asserted.
