Las Palmas are soaring again after Diego Martinez's remarkable revival | Sid Lowe

11/11/2024 01:00 PM

A month ago they were winless and certain for relegation but then in came a charismatic coach for whom every detail matters

Diego Martínez and his players made a pact not to look at the table but this time, as they headed along the cramped passageway, down the stairs, out the little red door and on to the big yellow bus, carrying Telepizzas and turning on phones, they could be forgiven for taking a sneaky peek. They had just beaten Rayo Vallecano 3-1 and, for the first time since August, were not in the relegation zone. It was three minutes after midnight on Friday when they pulled out of Fofo the Clown Street and turned left towards the hotel, another long flight home awaiting the following morning. They were probably still wondering how it had happened, how any of it had, but UD Las Palmas travelled in hope again.

When the bus departed, one player wasn't on board. Manu Fuster's mother has been feeding flood victims at her restaurant in Quart de Poblet; now his brother was waiting for him in the car outside, ready to take him home. With a lovely flick of his right foot, he had scored the third, having only been on the pitch two minutes. "It was very special for everything that's happened, because it's my first in primera, because it helped us win," he said before setting off straight for Valencia. "If you'd said we'd be in this position this a month back, we'd have put our heads in our hands. No one bet a duro, five pesetas, on us but things have changed completely."