Pochettino happy to take praise
Posted Tuesday, March 01, 2011 by PA
Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino always knew his side were on the right path, despite suffering four Primera Division defeats in a row recently.
The Barcelona-based side emphatically ended that negative streak on Saturday as they thrashed Real Sociedad 4-1 at Cornella.
That result saw the Catalans move up to fifth place in the table and Pochettino says the jeers have turned to cheers once more.
"After the victory, all of the criticisms have turned into compliments," he said.
"Everything seems better now, more rosy, but we knew we had to believe in what we were doing and that the results would come."
Espanyol now have 40 points and look set to challenge for a place in the Europa League at the very least, but Pochettino is not setting any long-term goals.
"It's important to break the 42-point barrier," he said.
"And if we win (against Real Mallorca), everyone's vision will be different, but we must avoid falling into the temptation of looking at the long term."
Javi Marquez joins Ivan de la Pena, Dani Osvaldo and Felipe Mattioni on the sidelines and will miss the clash, but Javi Chica returns from suspension.
Mallorca face Catalan opposition for the second time in the space of four days, having lost 3-0 at home to Barcelona on Saturday.
And coach Michael Laudrup hopes his side can recover from that exercise, which he says left his players physically and mentally exhausted.
"Barcelona wear you out physically and mentally because they always have possession of the ball," he said.
"Espanyol are a good team as well, but it will be a different game and we will have to recover for it."
Defender Ivan Ramis could be back from injury for the islanders.
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