Racing de Santander vs Real Sociedad preview - Montanier keeps an iron grip

Posted Sunday, December 18, 2011 by PA

Real Sociedad coach Philippe Montanier is demanding no let-up from his side as they look to continue their climb up the Primera Division with victory over lowly Racing Santander.

Sociedad had propped up the standings following a 4-0 loss at Rayo Vallecano last month and Montanier's short tenure in the hotseat looked to be under serious threat.

However, since that defeat Sociedad have picked up two wins and two draws from their four league games to climb up to 12th spot.

The Basque outfit continued that good run on Tuesday with a 4-1 triumph over top-flight rivals Granada in the Copa del Rey, and Frenchman Montanier will be hoping for more of the same.

"It's always good to have a winning dynamic, especially for the mindset of the players, and now we're doing well, but I don't want us to relax because the upcoming games are very difficult and very important," he said.

"The squad is highly motivated. We've set ourselves the objective of continuing with the good results and the good dynamic. We want to finish 2011 with victory."

Racing head into the weekend stuck in the bottom two of La Liga but they too have shown signs of recent improvement under interim coach Juanjo Gonzalez, who took over after Hector Cuper was sacked late last month.

In their two league matches under Gonzalez Racing have picked up an impressive four-point haul against Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao, while on Tuesday they beat Rayo 3-2 in the cup.

Racing netted twice in the last seven minutes of that match and Gonzalez praised his side's resilience, having also seen them snatch a last-gasp equaliser at Athletic.

"We showed also against Athletic Bilbao that we keep going and I'm pleased with the good feeling this game leaves us with, but the most important thing for us is the league and the matches coming up against Real Sociedad and Zaragoza," he said.

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