Victor Ruiz wants the team ”to focus exclusively on Thursday’s match”

The Spanish defender is looking forward to a ‘special’ derby

Valencia centre-back Victor Ruiz says that Saturdays’s defeat against Real Sociedad is now in the past and the team must focus on the upcoming Copa Del Rey clash against local rivals Levante.

Despite missing the match at the weekend, the 22 year-old defender shares the disappointment of his team-mates but he claims the team must pick themselves up quickly.

Speaking at a press conference Ruiz said: “We are really disappointed to have come to the end of a run of good games, but we can’t wallow in the fact that we might have been able to have done better. The team have things clear, but you can’t always play well.”

Ruiz was among the six changes made by Unai Emery for the match, but the defender insists he respects the decisions the manager takes and he accepts there will be switches made to the team regularly.

Apparently a section of Valencia fans turned up at the team’s training ground at Ciudad Deportiva on Monday to voice their displeasure at the team’s performance against Real Sociedad. Ruiz was unaware of this incident as he was doing his work in the gym at the time, but he claims that fans are free to express their feelings.

“Every person thinks differently,” Ruiz told the press. ”There will be people who agree and those who don’t. The Real Sociedad game is in the past, so we must focus exclusively on Thursday’s match.”

The Spaniard then turned his attentions towards the big Copa Del Rey clash against Levante. ”We want to continue in the cup and turn things around in the league. I don’t know if there is a favourite in the game against Levante, but we have to focus on ourselves and how we have had our success so far this season,” said the young defender.

“We want a good result and to keep a clean sheet for the second leg at Levante’s ground. Derbies are always special and the game against them in the league was very tight, so we are expecting similar this time around. Their main strength is their team spirit and they have slotted in at the top of the table when avoiding relegation was their original goal.”

Ruiz concluded the press conference by speaking about the challenge Valencia face in competing with Real Madrid and Barcelona.

He said: ”Maybe those two sides are a step above the rest, but there are teams like us with the squad and the talent to fight for those places. It’s fairly even now, so we will see at the end of the season.”