Gustavo Poyet was presented as the new Coach of Real Betis on Wednesday and says accepting the job was an easy decision to make.
The former Sunderland and AEK Athens Coach, who played in La Liga for Real Zaragoza before moving to Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, succeeds Juan Merino in the hot seat at the Benito Villamarin and has penned a two-year deal.
“When they called me about the Betis job it was a simple decision,” the Uruguayan told assembled reporters.
“It’s a pleasure to be here and I’ll give my all for this club. From here on in I will prove myself with hard work and results, not words.
“The fans here deserve everything we can give them. They want a competitive team and that’s what we are going to give them.
“I want a side that respects the ball, one that controls games and has character, and the more we have of the ball the more we will enjoy ourselves.
“From now on we must start planning, start working, and prove ourselves out there on the pitch.”
Poyet was asked about being compared with British coaches such as David Moyes and Gary Neville, who have worked in La Liga.
“I’m not British. I played in the Spanish League for seven years. I speak Spanish,” he replied. “During my time in England I got the opportunity to acquaint myself with a different League, to see a different game and get to know something that wasn’t the Spanish way. I got the chance to work in England before coming to Betis.”
The 47-year-old was also invited to comment on Los Beticos’ eternal rivals Sevilla.
“It’s vital we only think about ourselves. We are Real Betis Balompie and the rest matters little. When we think about ourselves more we win games, clasicos, derby games, improve.
“We mustn’t waste unnecessary energy thinking about our cross-city rivals. We will play two or more matches against them and see what happens.”