De la Barrera denies ultimatum and insists on club communication

UD Las Palmas manager Rubén de la Barrera denied on Friday that the club had given him an ultimatum ahead of next Sunday’s match in Mallorca, following the Yellow team’s poor run of form in LaLiga Hypermotion.

The Galician manager stated at a press conference that there is «constant communication» with the club and that they have not discussed «anything of the sort».

He also emphasised that his sole focus is on preparing thoroughly for the upcoming match against the Balearic side, managed by none other than the coach he replaced last summer, Luis García from Asturias.

UD Las Palmas: Mallorca are just three points ahead

The coach from A Coruña predicts that we will see a «beautiful match» between «two good teams», although in his view both are still a work in progress, «each at their own pace and in their own circumstances» in this early stage of the season.

«Mallorca are a solid side who concede very little when they lose possession, although in attack they are struggling to be as effective as they would like,» he added.

That said, De la Barrera pointed out that they are only «three points behind» the Bermellón side, meaning Unión Deportiva could draw level with them in the table if they manage to win at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix.

To this end, he insists that the yellow team must demonstrate «solidity and stability» in their play, something they have lacked in recent matches, having suffered from inconsistency at various stages of their games, the most recent example being last Sunday’s draw at the Estadio de Gran Canaria against Real Valladolid (2-2).

Pezzolesi remains at right-back against Mallorca

De la Barrera has hinted that Valentín Pezzolesi will continue as right-back given his current form, and therefore does not plan to move him to the opposite side of the defence.

For that position, he will once again be able to call upon academy graduate Adrián Rodríguez, who made his debut against the Valladolid side in the second half, when he came on as a substitute for Andrés Rodríguez following a fitness issue suffered by the Murcia-born player.