Torrecilla Goes on Holiday with Uncertain Future

Once the season ended without qualification for the promotion or the Copa del Rey, Hércules coach Rubén Torrecilla and the entire squad have started their holidays. The future of many of them is uncertain, and the name of the Extremaduran coach also appears on this list. Torrecilla has one more year on his contract, but this will not determine whether he stays at Hércules, as it can be terminated by paying part of it. The positions of Hércules' leaders remain unchanged from weeks ago, although in this final stretch of the league, those advocating for a change on the bench have gained reasons, as the team has ended the season with 17 defeats, a historic negative record for the Alicante team in the third tier of Spanish football.

In Torrecilla's favour supposedly plays his affinity with Enrique Ortiz, who is still grateful to him for the promotion and maintains a good personal relationship with him. However, the owner is also clear that starting a season with a questioned coach is not a good idea, whether by the stands or from the offices of Rico Pérez. This happened in the past with Juan Carlos Mandiá and José Bordalás, and more recently with Lluís Planagumà.

Torrecilla has also ended up exhausting a good part of the squad, and the relationship with the players is not the best. His discourse does not resonate, the locker room is tired of the lack of self-criticism from the bench, and this discontent has also reached the owner's ears.

For his part, technical secretary Paco Peña, like Javier Portillo (who supposedly is not present but is behind everything), advocates for a change on the bench, and this stance has remained firm for several weeks. Beyond the public barbs thrown from the bench at the technical secretariat after the short winter market, the club believes there was a squad capable of challenging Antequera and Mérida for promotion despite Hércules' status as a newly promoted team. Additionally, it is undeniable that the team ended the season with a dreadful image, and the figure of 17 defeats speaks for itself. Torrecilla insists that Hércules fought for promotion during 80% of the competition, but it is equally true that mistakes have been systematically repeated without solutions being found from the tactics board.

Everything seems to indicate that the decision regarding Torrecilla will be the first to be made, and at Rico Pérez, they are also clear that if the Extremaduran packs his bags, they will need to excite the fans with a proven coach and a project that decisively aims to return to the second tier after too many years in the doldrums.