Omeruo hopeful Leganes can survive La Liga relegation battle
Leganes centre-back Kenneth Omeruo has urged his teammates to be more focused when they host Real Valladolid in an empty Estadio Municipal de Butarque on Saturday.
La Liga will restart on June 11, almost three months after sporting activities in Spain were suspended due to the coronavirus which broke out in March.
Leganes find themselves struggling against relegation as they are placed 19th in the league table with 23 points after 27 matches.
Ahead of their first game on Saturday, Omeruo believes Javier Aguirre’s side can still maintain their top-flight status in the absence of their fans.
“We are playing without our fans at home so we must be more focused, but I think it could work in our favour, I hope it does,” the Nigeria international told the club website.
“Our chances are more or less the same. We have to grab it, we have the opportunity to avoid relegation and we are working hard to achieve it.
“I think right now is better to follow the instructions of La Liga because it is still risky. We love our fans and we love them at Butarque but right now safety is more important. We will try to give them the best results while they watch from home.”
The 26-year-old revealed an area Leganes are working to correct ahead of their return to action.
“Set pieces are difficult because sometimes you make a little mistake or your teammate doesn’t cover a player and you get scored or sometimes you may miss a player but nothing happens, so we have been unlucky before with set pieces. We are working hard to correct that,” he added.
La Liga clubs resumed training sessions a few weeks ago after clubs conducted coronavirus tests for their staff and players.
Prior to the return, Omeruo explained how he coped with his family during the lockdown period in Spain.
“It has been difficult especially for my wife that could not go out,” he said.
“I usually go out mostly to get groceries and then get back home. It has been difficult because nobody expected such a thing to happen, but I am happy with the way it is being managed in Spain.
“A lot of people have followed the curfew and stayed at home and everything has been done. I am happy to be back doing what we love, playing football.”
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“It isn’t possible not to love Ronaldo unless you are jealous. He is humble and I am happy for the success he had today.
“I saw him work to become the best and I am Portuguese, so he makes me proud.”