Simeone to Atlético fringe players: no excuses when called upon

Nacho Donado of El Club Uría asked how players left out of the starting XI or the matchday squad are managed. Simeone was emphatic: at Atlético you have to be ready, and saying you haven't played in a long time is no excuse.

With the final question of the press conference, Nacho Donado, El Club Uría's correspondent, raised an issue of squad management. Good results help justify decisions on the pitch, but how are players handled individually when they may feel they deserve to start and don't? And what about the young players who are finding it hard to scrape together minutes, or even make the matchday squad?

Simeone replied that being at a big, strong club creates these situations. That is precisely why players have to be ready: one day the coach tells them they are going on, and then excuses such as not playing, or not having played for a long time, don't count.

According to the coach, the answer lies in training. The coaching staff are always available to the players, working on fitness and technique and constantly striving to make sure they are ready to respond when their turn comes. His conclusion: they are at Atlético de Madrid to deliver when their moment arrives.