Losada: “When we are united, it will be very difficult to beat us”

Following the victory over Karmiotissa, Hernán Losada spoke at the post-match press conference about the team’s attacking performance, the three consecutive victories, the support of the fans and the return of players who are giving him more options to choose from.

Regarding the team’s performance, the winning run and the support of the fans:

“We showed our intentions from the beginning. I think our start was one of the best we have had this season. We managed to make the difference and, even when the game was already decided, we continued pushing forward to score more goals.

“We scored five goals and consolidated our position as the best attacking team in the league. It was also positive to keep a clean sheet. We didn’t feel that we had to do too much defensively.

“Overall, it was a very good performance that helped us build confidence and momentum, with three victories in a row. There are so many positives. Sometimes we focus too much on one or two negative aspects that may come up during the week. I sometimes read that one player will be unavailable or that another has a problem, but when matchday arrives, we have 23 players available.

“That is also a positive. We are gradually moving towards having our full squad available, which gives us more options and increases competition within the team.

“My final comment is about our fans, who were amazing today. As they do at every home and away game, they make us feel at home even when we are not playing at ALPHAMEGA Stadium. Every week, they make us feel as though we are playing a home game.

“Today, the team gave them an additional reason to get behind us with such a strong performance. It really felt like we were all one. I can’t wait for next weekend’s game, and I hope we will see a full stadium. I’m very excited about what lies ahead, but we must also enjoy the present because sometimes we don’t appreciate enough how difficult it is to win in football.

“We take it for granted when we face teams we are expected to beat on paper. But these are often the most difficult games. When you collect points against these opponents, you put yourself in a position to fight near the top of the league until the end.

“So let’s not take our unbeaten record for granted. We shouldn’t consider it normal or something that simply happens. Apollon have lost only one match since we started pre-season at the end of June. Sometimes we don’t fully appreciate the effort everyone is making: every department at the club, the Press Office, the medical staff who are working incredibly hard to get players back to fitness, the coaching staff, the players, the board and, today, our fans as well.

“When we are united, it will be very, very difficult to beat us.”

Regarding whether Apollon can challenge for the championship:

“I like to take things game by game. I really liked the way we approached last season. We didn’t set ourselves specific targets or put labels on ourselves by saying that we had to achieve this or that.

“The only game I care about, and the most important one for me, is the next game. I can guarantee that at the end of the regular season, we will be in the championship play-offs. At that point, we will see where we stand and how far we are from the other teams.

“Now, after seven matchdays, you can talk about title contenders, underdogs or favourites if you want. You can put whatever label you prefer on us. As a team, we are focusing all our energy on the next game.”

Regarding Garry Rodrigues’ condition and the management of injuries:

“Garry played a very good game while he was on the pitch. Unfortunately, he felt a minor issue, which is normal for high-intensity athletes like Garry and all our players.

“We need to start normalising the fact that these things can happen. When a player constantly switches between playing surfaces, as Garry did with his national team, where he plays on an artificial pitch, while we have been training on our own ground over the past three weeks and have also had to train in Akrotiri and Erimi on different surfaces, it is normal for these issues to arise. The same applies when players have to play matches one after another, particularly in Garry’s case with his national team’s World Cup qualifying commitments.

“During the week, comments and negativity often develop around whether a player has felt something or whether he will be available. These things are normal in professional football. Sometimes a player experiences muscle soreness or stiffness, needs to miss a game or has to be managed carefully. At other times, you can rotate, while in other situations you have no alternative and have to take a risk. It is part of the job.

“I’m getting tired of having to clarify the situation regarding one player or another every week. These things are normal. I hope Garry’s issue is minor and that we can have him available next week because he is a very important player for us.

“However, as you saw today, Asoro came on and delivered an excellent performance. We now have a bigger squad with quality players, and when someone is unavailable, there is someone else ready to replace him.”

Regarding the team’s playing identity, consistency in the starting eleven and improvement in performance:

“This is a very intelligent group of players. Whatever we prepare during the week, there is always an opponent in front of us, and sometimes things work as planned while other times they don’t. However, the way we have been training and working for months has been excellent.

“We wanted to control the game from the beginning. One of the key characteristics of my work, and that of my coaching staff, is the emphasis we place on repetition. We have our own game plan and our own identity. We try to adapt as little as possible to the opposition, play our own game, dominate and press in the opponent’s half to keep our defensive line as high as possible.

“You can see the results of this work when, week after week, you manage to field the same starting eleven or keep as many players as possible from one game to the next. That is when automatic movements and patterns developed in training begin to emerge during matches as well.

“When you have to make three, four or five changes to the starting eleven every week, it is difficult to produce a performance like tonight’s. Gradually, however, we are managing to keep more players in the starting eleven, nine, ten or even eleven, while the players gain confidence, improve their fitness and get more minutes on the pitch.

“Today, everything was ideal. As I said at the beginning, the game was effectively over after we made it 3-0, but I saw the team continuing to push forward, looking for more goals, improving our statistics and increasing the margin. I really, really liked that.

“There were two or three moments when I felt the players were starting to become arrogant. I don’t want that from my team. You must always play as if the score is 0-0 and show the opposition the utmost respect.

“We have a short week ahead of us. Tomorrow we have a day off, and then we have just four days to prepare for the next game. As you can see, the more we play and the more consistently we can field the same starting eleven, the more confidence we gain and the better we will play.”

Press Office
Apollon Limassol