Atletico Madrid manager Stephen Gordon spoke to the Madrid press following his side’s return from Monaco. (On the result and performance): “Both were fantastic. Given the gap that had built up between ourselves and the rest of the league everyone else would have been rooting for Monaco in order to keep in touch, so there was definitely a siege mentality amongst the players. We adopted a conservative approach with a system the players had worked on during the week and we have played this way before. They performed admirably and the win puts us within touching distance of promotion and hopefully another league title for the club.” (On any standout players): “Any system that plays one up-front and comes away with a victory shows that the lone striker has done his job. Vennegoor held the ball up superbly, relieving the pressure on our defence and letting midfield support get to him to start our own attacks. His goal was superbly taken and he deserved the man-of-the-match award by far. Fleck and Burke played well in midfield and, as is usual in the league, the defensive unit held firm and kept another clean sheet.” (On the league table after the weekends results): “The results leave us eight points clear of the chasing pack, which is a very comfortable lead to have with only six league games left. Our next two games are at home so we will be targeting maximum points from them both. Every game still means something as we aim for an unbeaten league season and the division two title, whilst the opposition are all fighting for second place and against relegation, the league is that tight so far that any one from 2nd to 7th could still go down or go up!” (On recent transfer rumours): “We have reached agreement with Liverpool for a straight swap of one of their youth midfielders for Pizarro at the end of the season. I felt that the midfield core is maybe too old and its time to take a risk on a younger model. Burke, Thomson and Fernandez are a good core to build on going forward but a couple of younger middies will ease any problems we may face in the future. We have also just signed A_Hill from FC Basle for 16.5m. We need another good defender for next season to ensure that Cuellar can develop in the reserves and Hill is exactly what we need, good age and can pass the ball very well. He may be out suspended just now but this purchase was more with next season in mind.” The end of Season 14 is now upon us all. The Div3 champions, Monaco have had a very fair run-in this season and are sitting pretty in the second spot. Monaco manager, Andy, held a short press conference prior to the game versus fellow promoted side Lev Tallinn. "At the start of the season, we expected a very tough fight to survive
in this division. Right now we are very delighted. I really have not thought
of where we would end on the table, but we would have been very content
with a finish at the 6th spot. I think with just 3 games "Getting promoted to Div1 would be a bonus for our side. Although
we are not gunning for it, right now, we have the best chance of finishing
at second spot and moving up another Division. This would be really fantastic
for the squad. A victory for us this week would "The squad is developing into match winners, but at a very steady
rate. One cannot expect us to suddenly turn around and say we are better
than most of the others, but we are getting there slowly. The ultimate
glory for us would be to one day be a Prem side. We are
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Atletico Madrid manager spoke to the gathered press after his side’s home match against Feyenoord (On the absence of Feyenoord’s manager): “I don’t think anyone was expecting his absence, we know he is under pressure in the league but missing his games isn’t going to help. The Feyenoord players looked very subdued and were obviously missing that guiding hand that players often need in order to function as a team. Hopefully the manager will sort things out and get back to managing the team through this season.” (On the result and performance tonight): “Given the circumstances a win was always on the cards, the only question was regarding the margin. We were very comfortable tonite and dominated the match from start to finish, but I am disappointed that we only won by two goals. Pazzini looked a bit rusty given his recent absence but from his efforts I was expecting at least one goal. The defence wasn’t tested that often and another clean sheet is always good for morale, its amazing to think we have only conceded three goals in nine league matches.” (On resting Burke for the match): “Chris is only 19 and had been looking jaded in training, he was thrown into the first team and maybe he needs a little rest now. It also gave us a chance to give Vicente a send off before he moves to Liverpool so we were able to kill two birds with one stone, Burke already looks revitalised in training this morning.” (On the sale of Vicente so suddenly): “Our three main midfielders are currently in their thirties so I was looking to cash in on one of them following the deal to sell Pizarro eos to Liverpool for one of their youth middies. If the youth player does well, coupled with the return of Thomson, we should have a good depth in midfield and all at good ages. The cash raised from Vicente is aimed at bringing in a replacement striker for Wanchope, either via the auction or a scout. Wanchope may also be sold this season if we clinch promotion early enough to bring in further funds.” Atletico Madrid manager Stephen Gordon spoke on the pitch as his team celebrated promotion following their draw with Anderlecht. “This promotion is a great achievement for the club and finally sees us promoted to the 1st division. It has been frustrating over the past few seasons to see teams like Sturm Graz and PSG go up through the leagues even as we matched them in our games, but now we have taken a step up. This has been a memorable league campaign, the title is one win away and we are still unbeaten this far into it. We sacrificed the cup campaigns in the name of league progression and tonight that policy has been vindicated. We had no youth players this season so the extra minutes available through the cup were not necessary, and we don’t have the biggest squad around so we couldn’t take the risk of losing key players in cup matches. Now that promotion is ours, we are gunning for the title and also have our sights on an unbeaten league campaign. With division 2 so tight we have a responsibility to keep going and ensure that all the final standings have truly been earned rather than gained by default through teams fielding weakened sides. Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe the players are bringing a bucket of water with my name on it!”
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