Pacheta admits he still hasn’t decided on a style of play after eight games in charge of Villarreal

Villarreal boss Pacheta has provided more lousy explanations for his team’s poor results this season.

Pacheta was hired until the end of the season after a less than ideal start for Quique Setién, but things haven’t got any better since. The former Valladolid boss has won just two of his first eight games in charge, and just one of those wins came in La Liga.

Sunday saw Villarreal draw with likely relegation candidates Alaves, who also have nine points after 10 games.

Once again, it wasn’t so much the result that was concerning but Villarreal’s lack of just about everything, from fitness to desire, from systemic issues to mentality. Not to mention this may be the most boring Yellows side to watch in a decade.

Speaking after the game, Pacheta reasoned: “Of course I am concerned about how we are doing because the sensations are not good. The grades are at the end of May. Today it is much more important the sensations. Here we are still looking for a model that works and it won’t be because of mobility.

“We have played in every way and we will continue to look for it. We are not suspected of standing still. It worries me because the sensations are not good. I always talk about this because they have always responded positively to me if I saw something positive.

“We have to look for those good feelings, but we have to get rid of that excessive burden of responsibility. We are on matchday ten, with nine points, but we are going to work like animals and concentrate. We all have to work a little bit harder so that we can win and feel comfortable. Right now, we are not very brave.

“In the end, we had more heart and we had good actions, but we have to do them with more criteria. We can’t do what we do well five times, but 25 times, because that brings us closer to victory”.

The big question is, why is Pacheta ‘looking for a model that works?’ Why doesn’t he have a style of play to implement? One that he is willing to die on his sword for? You can’t arrive at a club like Villarreal and attempt to figure it out through trial and error. That’s astounding.

It’s also far to challenge his claim of his side playing with ‘more heart’. On what evidence? Even when things were not going well in La Liga under Unai Emery, this team played with desire and died for every inch. We haven’t seen that in a single game this season.

We hate to be the ones sounding the alarms, but it’s hard to deny that there has been red flag after red flag under Pacheta.