Girona coach Michel urges players to finish end of year strong

Girona can put themselves in a good position for the second half of the season with some strong performances in the final matches before the LaLiga winter break, manager Michel said ahead of Saturday's game at Mallorca.

Girona are ninth in the LaLiga standings with 22 points from 16 games and are aiming to replicate last season's success where they finished third and qualified for the Champions League for the first time.

Michel's side are winless in their last two games with a 3-0 defeat by Real Madrid and a 2-2 draw with Villarreal. A win over eighth-placed Mallorca could move them a few places up in the table, the manager said.

"It is a key match. There are three games left to finish the first round and we have to see how many points we have to collect to gauge where we will be in the standings," Michel told reporters on Friday.

"Mallorca is above us but if we win things will change. We need to win games to be at the top, that is what I have told the players. There are three key games left to face the second round well and with guarantees."

Michel also lamented Girona's poor return in front of goal, having not scored in their last three matches in all competitions.

"When you have the score in your favour, everything is easier to control in the game... That's why it's very important to be able to score first and we have not scored in three games. This means we have to improve, nothing more," Michel said.

"Football has a lot of equality and the small details mark the result a lot, so I think we have to control these small details better."