Castellón Boss Warns of 'Tourmalet' Ahead as Tough Tests Loom
Pablo Hernández is keeping Castellón grounded despite sitting top of LaLiga Hypermotion, with Las Palmas, Deportivo and Racing all on the horizon.
CD Castellón are sitting pretty at the top of LaLiga Hypermotion, but manager Pablo Hernández isn’t letting anyone get carried away — and fair enough, because the schedule ahead looks properly tasty.
Top of the table, feet on the ground
Hernández held his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s home clash with UD Las Palmas (21:00 peninsular time), and the vibe from the Castellón dugout is quietly confident rather than cocky. He acknowledged that life is easier when results are going your way — which, as league leaders, they clearly are — but he’s making sure his squad stays switched on.
“Veo al equipo muy enchufado” — the squad are buzzing, essentially — and that energy seems to be translating on the pitch. Castellón are clearly in a good place mentally, and Hernández wants to keep that momentum rolling.
Don’t sleep on Las Palmas
Saturday’s opponents might not be flying high in the table, but Hernández was quick to flag them as a proper threat:
- Las Palmas are the least-conceding side in the division — a stat that tells you everything about how hard they are to break down
- They’re not in great form coming into this one, but Hernández made clear that means nothing — they’re still a quality outfit
- He described them as a “equipazo” — a proper team — and you can tell he means it
This isn’t a game Castellón can sleepwalk through, even with home advantage and a league-leader’s swagger.
Eyes on the prize, one game at a time
Here’s where it gets interesting. Hernández is very deliberately keeping the focus narrow. After Las Palmas, Castellón face Deportivo de La Coruña and then Racing de Santander — both direct rivals in the promotion race. It’s the sort of fixture run that could define their entire season, a proper mountain stage in what he’s calling their “Tourmalet” moment.
But the gaffer’s message is clear:
- No looking ahead to the second-placed Racing clash
- Game by game, full stop
- Respect every opponent, especially ones scrapping for the same goal
It’s the kind of level-headed management that tends to separate the sides that actually go up from the ones who bottle it when the pressure’s on.
The bigger picture
Castellón being top of the second tier is a genuinely brilliant story. The club have had their fair share of turbulence over the years, and to see them leading the charge for promotion to La Liga proper is something a lot of neutral fans can get behind. Hernández clearly has them well-drilled and mentally sharp — the question is whether they can hold their nerve through this brutal run of fixtures.
If they can get through Las Palmas, Depor and Racing with points in the bag, the dream starts to look very real indeed.