After their poorest start to the season in his seventh year managing Real Sociedad, Imanol Alguacil has defended his position this week. La Real currently sit 16th, level on points with Real Valladolid in the relegation zone, but Alguacil was happy with their 1-1 draw away from home at OGC Nice to kick off their Europa League campaign.
On Tuesday, Alguacil told the media that his critics finally had the chance to come out of hiding to have a pop at him, and following their result in France, he told the press that his players were there until the death with him.
“If there’s one thing this team has, it’s a lot of personality. Change of setup, a lot of homegrown players. For many, it was their first starts. I always say the same thing, these players go to death with my ideas, with what I tell them. Once again, I congratulate them even though we haven’t won the game. What they have done has a lot of merit,” Alguacil told Relevo.
Nice were coming off an 8-0 win against Saint-Etienne last weekend, but for the most part were halted by La Real.
“We have come to a stadium where this team is in a very sweet moment of form. They are being very daring, very good players, vertical, with a lot of quality. I think we had a great first half. [I’m] Half happy, because in the second half we have dropped physically and we have not been able to maintain the level of the first half,” he explained.
While Sporting Director Roberto Olabe backed him earlier this week too, it is certainly evidence that Alguacil is under pressure for the first time in a while. The Basque manager is a long way from getting sacked, but the murmurings of discontent will grow if results do not improve. They face Valencia, Anderlecht and then Atletico Madrid at home before the international break, and will be desperate for at least one win before they break.