I'm glad we were able to take the lead and win. The opponent was down to 10 men, so I was a bit nervous, but at a time like this, if we don't stop it somewhere, it will continue in the same way. Today, the players, including the substitutes, fought until the end, even with a tight schedule with only two days between games, and I think that's what led to this victory. I'm really glad that we were able to give our supporters a victory after a long time, and I want to applaud the players for their hard work, even though it's our fifth consecutive game with only two days between games. We have another game against Niigata in three days, so we need to switch gears, get in shape again, and prepare well as a team. Niigata is also playing aggressive football right now, so I want to prepare well so that we can fight them.

Q: Endo scored the opening goal, but in the first half he was up front rather than in the defensive midfielder position. What was your intention?
A: We started with a diamond formation, which was a good option for the defensive midfielders against a team with three defenders. The opponent had 10 men, and they were in a 4-4-1 formation, so we changed back to 4-4-2, but we were beaten by a corner kick, so we put Anderson PATRIC Aguiar Oliveira in again, and when we put Kurata in, we changed back to a diamond formation. We wanted to create a mismatch for the opponent, and then go for the goal at the end. I think Takashi scored the winning goal at the end.

Q I think everyone did their best, but did you think the two defensive midfielders, Endo and Konno, who are both over 30, were particularly effective?
A: I think it was the first time for Imachan to play as an anchor from the start, but he understood it well. He said after the game that he still had a lot to learn, but I think he did a good job, and Yatto's eye-opening mid-range shot really brought the momentum to Gamba, and I think the two of them played very well today.

Q: The opponents were playing well with only 10 men, but you made substitutions early in the second half. What was each of your intentions in making those substitutions?
A: The formation was good, but to bring out more power and force, I put Anderson PATRIC Aguiar Oliveira up front. LINS Lima De Brito was really doing well up until that time, and Abe was doing well up until that time, even though it was his second game in a row with only two days off. However, I really wanted to get ahead by one point, so I put in a fresh player from that time. I thought that if we dragged it out too long and got tired, the other players wouldn't be able to attack with power, so I made an early substitution.

Q: You were trailing in consecutive games, so was there anything you paid particular attention to when closing out the final game?
A: We were careful in the last match, but we were caught up, so we were careful in today's match, too, but I don't know how it went. I think we still have a long way to go. However, we brought in Myojin and brought in a fresh player for Ishizu, so we tried to take care of that by moving Ima-chan a little to the left. The positions are fluid, though. Ishizu has a shot from the middle, so we told him to be careful there, and to Myojin not to make any unnecessary fouls when he goes in. In front of the goal, set plays really don't matter if we're outnumbered, so we told everyone to make sure to tell them that, put Myojin in, and I think Myojin will control the game and close it out at the end. In that sense, I think the fact that Myojin came back and played well in all the matches really gave the team more options, and I'm grateful that we have a player on the bench who we can send out without any worries in a closing role at a time like this.