Francisco: "The affection for us in Thailand has been surprising"

UD Almería are still in the midst of their LFP World Challenge Tour in Thailand. Their manager, Francisco Rodríguez, in an interview with LFP.es, said he is satisfied with the preseason, and that his team is doing some good work. The Andalusian side’s manager also revealed some of the keys to next season.

"It’s a good experience. We’re getting used to a different climate to what we have in Spain. The project that LFP is running, taking Spanish teams around the world, presenting our football to other counties where they are still developing in our sport is very interesting", stated the coach from Almería.

Francisco said he is very happy with the way Thailand have got behind UD Almería and wanted to express his thanks for the warm welcome they received throughout their stay: "For a team like ours, which is not known globally, having the welcome they have given us, both in Bangkok and Phuket, has surprised all of us. In addition, having a player like Teerasil, who is an idol here and has changed their football, has meant the whole of Thailand supports us".

Specifically, he alluded to the Thai star, who he said "is adapting to our philosophy. He is a very intelligent kid who pays attention to everything we say. He has surprised us in every sense, both in terms of sport and personally. He is on target to give us a lot in La Liga and we’re very happy to have Teerasil with us".

The UD Almería coach also mentioned the large number of new faces in the team. "Our budget does not allow us to have a squad with years guaranteed at the club, so we had the challenge of starting from scratch again. I think we have interesting players who have come hoping to contribute a lot to our team and the nucleus of the squad is the same as last year", said the young manager.

"It’s going to be a difficult year and we’re trying to get people focused so that we can be strong in every regard and reach the final match with a chance of staying up. That would be success for our team. We’ve told our fans we’ll try and make easier work of it than last season", concluded Francisco.