"We have to try our hardest in training and in the minutes we have to make the decision difficult for our manager"



Carles Gil has a special Saturday ahead, as Valencia CF take on Elche CF in a regional derby in La Liga. The VCF player returned from a loan spell at Elche only this past summer, and has a close connection with the club whom he helped to promotion in 2012/13.



“I have a lot of affection for Elche and it is going to be a special game, in which I will try to give my all to take victory with the team,” said the young talent, who has become more prominent in recent games. “I try to follow Elche when I can. They haven’t had a good start to the season, but the same thing happened last season and they managed to turn things around. If we don’t have a good game, then I’m sure they will make things difficult,” warned Gil.



VCF are back at home after an unsuccessful away trip to Riazor, where they lost 3-0 to Deportivo la Coruña. Mestalla has been a fortress for the team so far this season, so the return is a welcome one. “We have to win and be strong,” said the winger. “We are demonstrating what we are capable of and there is no pressure; instead there are good expectations for us as a home side, because we have such great fans.”



The club have almost a week’s rest between games, but they want to get back to playing midweek fixtures in Europe next season, as Gil reiterated. “The aim is to get into the Champions League. We don’t like to talk about what is going to happen at the end of the season, however; we prefer to take things game-by-game.”



On a personal note, the player brought up through the ranks at junior level wants to feature more this season: “It’s logical that at the start of the campaign the manager goes for the same group of players, when they have begun so well. We have to try our hardest in training and in the minutes we have to make the decision difficult for him, and manage to play more.”