José Luis Mendilibar, Sevilla coach, indicated on Wednesday that his team will have to come out strong and focused in San Mamés, where an in-form Athletic await him this Thursday. The Basque coach, who returned to Bilbao to face the club where he started his football career, hopes that the Nervionenses can maintain their good results.
“Athletic is a very good team, convinced of what they are doing. They have a lot of rhythm. If we fall asleep they will put us in our place and we will not be able to get out of there. I hope to start the match with tension and concentration. Right now we are two teams with similar ideas, to play on the opposite field with an advanced defense. It will be a different game because it is a team that tries to overwhelm the rival”, hinted the coach.
Mendilibar complained about the high temperature which is registered these days in Seville. “We try to ensure that in each game those who are in the best condition play. The results help us so that, through so many changes, people continue to believe in what we do. Hopefully we still have people to make those changes. These days are very hot, it is what we have and what we have to do. We have to take care of the loads after the games and in these temperatures. We try to make them comfortable so they can rest and be fine on game day.”
The coach of the hispalens teame don’t want to set a target when the threat of relegation is far away, but believe that we still need to look back. “We have been like this since the first day I arrived. The match against Cádiz is important because it is a direct rival and if we beat them we will leave them. The next one is also important because if you add three points you leave the relegation in more than one game. There will come a time when when we win, we will never look back. We still can’t rest,” he said.
In that sense, he does not want to spoil the euphoria, even to win, but to continue working. “With 41 points (which he would add) we are restless. We have to try to win in San Mamés, but don’t think that everything will be done with it.”
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
