Madrid, Oct 6 (IANS) La Liga side Valencia captain Jose Luis Gaya said Tuesday that he is optimistic the club will improve under former Mexico coach Javier Aguirre, while acknowledging that his own future at Valencia beyond the end of the season remains unresolved.
Aguirre was appointed Valencia coach at the start of the international break last month, replacing Carlos Corberan, and is tasked with lifting the club out of the relegation zone in the ongoing season.
Speaking at an event in Valencia, the 31-year-old Gaya was positive about the impact of a coach who has previously managed Osasuna, Atletico Madrid, Espanyol, Leganes and Mallorca in La Liga.
“We are extremely pleased with Aguirre,” he stated as quoted by Xinhua, adding that the Mexican coach has been “very demanding from the very first day of training sessions.”
“He’s a coach with a lot of experience with almost 500 games in La Liga, so he knows the competition very well, and that is important.”
Gaya said the team was ‘looking forward’ to its first game under Aguirre, against Racing Santander. “I’m certain we are going to win; it’s a special game, and we will give everything,” he insisted.
The defender, who has made 409 first-team appearances for Valencia, said he felt in a “good moment of form” after injury problems at the start of the season but admitted he has yet to agree to an extension to his contract, which expires at the end of June.
“Obviously I’d like to get it sorted out, but at the moment we have not had a conversation about it,” he said.
“The team is the most important thing at the moment, and we are all focused on getting out of the relegation zone, so that is where I will put my energy for now,” concluded Gaya.
–IANS
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