Albelda: ”We have made errors and we must correct them”

The Valencia captain spoke about the current form

Valencia captain David Albelda spoke to the press on Monday to discuss the current situation at the club, where  they have lost the last two league games and are now level on points with a resurgent Malaga.

After last Wednesday’s disappointing 2-1 defeat at the Mestalla against lowly Zaragoza, Valencia followed that up with a 3-1 loss away at Getafe on Saturday night.

Big-spending Malaga have been in terrific form recently and Valencia’s dip in form has allowed them to move level on points with them as they battle for a place in next season’s Champions League.

David Albelda says the team have found it tough to maintain consistency and that has allowed other teams to capitalise.

“This is a season in which we have always had a cushion, points-wise, from the start. Now we are seeing the teams below us coming up strong whilst we are having more difficulties,” said Albelda in the press conference. “It was neither so easy for us before, nor so difficult for us now. You have to be at your best right until the end of the season and this consistency is always tough to achieve.”

“Obviously our recent results aren’t the best, but I don’t want to look at this situation as being as disastrous as the media make out.”

Being a veteran member of the team and a Valencia player for the last 13 years, Albelda has seen everything at the club and he is familiar with the ups and downs and he spoke about the difficulty of participating in three competitions every season and the toll it’s taking on the team.

He said: “In my experience of previous years, being in three competitions really tires teams out and, sooner or later, you begin to feel it. Even Barcelona and Real Madrid, who have taken wins without playing well at times, have this. We all go through dips when the schedule becomes so saturated.”

“We are in just the one cup competition now, but there is little over a month remaining in the league and our fate will only be decided at the end,” he continued. “What we have to do now is win games and all these times in which teams have made comebacks is because of our mistakes. We have made errors and we have to be able to correct them.”

The captain went on to discuss the relationship between the players and the fans that has been called into question recently and how the team feel about playing at the Mestalla.

“If you give them something to be excited about and give your best, then they will get behind you. When we lost against Zaragoza the fans were fantastic and they only showed their disapproval at the final whistle,” said Albelda.

“Our line of work is well paid because we are working in front of 50,000 every day. If the results aren’t coming then it is because we are doing something wrong -not because we have a complex about Mestalla. We have been in much worse situations than this.”

Valencia are back in Europa League action this week where they have been playing their best football recently, once again they face a Dutch side, this time its against AZ Alkmaar the current leaders of the Dutch league. The first leg is in Alkmaar on Thursday night.