Some coaches shy away from calling a league game a “final,” no matter how crucial it may be, with 12 points still to play for and nothing decided yet. But Beñat San José sees it differently. The Eibar head coach believes his team must win nearly all of their remaining four matches to keep their playoff hopes alive. It’s a tough challenge, starting with an away trip to Mirandés, who have “so much” on the line, but not an impossible one. They simply need to replicate the winning streak that has kept them in the promotion race during the final month of the season.
**On the Málaga match:**
“I think the first half was excellent, of a very high level—a team playing with great intensity, fully committed, and with the mental strength to recover from a painful penalty. In such a direct, head-to-head game, when the opponent takes the lead like that—I’m not saying whether it was or wasn’t [a penalty]—it’s always hard to accept. We bounced back, were very complete, and had a great first half. Then in the second half, the feeling was that their individual brilliance killed us. We also felt we wanted to go for the game, that if we stayed at their mercy the whole time, we could pay a heavy price. We got back into the match, regained control, but in exchange the game opened up a bit more, and in that exchange of blows, their individual actions decided it. Both teams are very intense, with great consistency in different phases, but yes, it’s true their goals were high-level individual plays that worked perfectly for them.”
**On the upcoming Mirandés match:**
“It’s going to be a very intense game. I like games like this—I like that Mirandés, like us, has so much at stake. I expect an intense match, quite tactical, but also with many breaks, against a team that will put a lot of volume into attack, with players who have skill and are technically gifted. It will have its back-and-forth. But I think we are a team that has shown we perform well under pressure. The very positive run of results we’ve had is also because we’ve played on the edge, and that has brought us to this streak. Eibar is built for these types of games. We have the match very well prepared; we know we are going to face a team with that stress, that anxiety, that aggressiveness—always in the good sense. We will have it too, and we are fully focused and mentally ready for the game we have to play.”
**Injury update:**
“Like any player, there are always some discomforts, some knocks, but Arbilla has trained very well during the week, no problem. Both he and any other player have managed and split their work during the week, because modern football has a very important component of collective and individual work. We always try to work very precisely, and he is fine. He has done the loads corresponding to the team. Marco Moreno has also trained well and will be available. Toni Villa also trained well; he was already in the squad the other day. We are adding players, which is very important. Aside from Guruzeta and Nolaskoain, I see everyone else in good shape.”
**On Bernat:**
“He’s fine. The other day he played at the end of the match with very good intensity, and this week he has had a very complete week. Beyond his progression, it’s very important that the players are available, and Juan is already with us at 100%.”
**On the final stretch:**
“It’s exciting, and I would say even more. Our big goal is to reach the last matchday with a chance. That would be wonderful: to compete in every game with that charisma that characterizes us, with that complete football that defines us. And from there, game by game. We know that out of these four finals, we have to…” (sentence cut short in original).
