“Being stable at home has given us a lot”

Ernesto Valverde In the interview he gave to Mundo Deportivo, he assessed his team’s chances of securing a Champions League spot – now four points away – and the team’s improvement compared to last season.

After the draw against Villarreal, tomorrow’s match against Granada will be even more important.

Obviously there are seven games left, 21 points to play for. Each meeting is important for what is left. Victory is essential to have a chance for fourth place. But if it was important for us, imagine what it could have been for Granada, who really put everything at risk. I don’t think even a draw is worth it, but it’s true that we thought we’d win that match.

Having secured a place in the Europa League as Cup champions, the aim now is to qualify for the Champions League. How do you see it?

We will not fool ourselves, we are at a disadvantage to Atlético. We are four points behind, we don’t depend on ourselves and we have to play against them on their field, but every week is an opportunity to close the gap. Let’s see if we can advance the game and see how they respond. It is true that Girona is a bit higher. We have to make the most of our possibilities when we have reached our goal, to get into Europe, and more than the goal of winning the Cup Now we have to have new challenges. We must have the mentality to continue competing. The best thing for that is to have the goal of getting into the Champions League, but we are not counting on ourselves. If we can get within three points of Atlético, it’s up to us.

In this sense, Atlético’s withdrawal from the Champions League harms Athletic because they can now focus exclusively on the League?

It’s true that our match at the Metropolitano was played before the first leg of the Champions League semi-final and obviously they had to focus on the League, but we had to play it. They also focused on the Cup and we won on their field in that match with great intensity. We will go step by step, focus on the game on Friday (tomorrow), which is important for us, and then prepare for the match in Madrid.

This year the team has made significant progress compared to last season. Are you expecting this big improvement?

Compared to last season, we were more successful and maybe we were more solid in some moments, but I think the line is similar. Last year we were punished a lot for our lack of success in attack because we converted very little for what we created. At some points we didn’t have the stability we have now from a defensive point of view, but basically there wasn’t much difference. Now our offensive numbers are in line with what we’re doing. Last season we made more than we converted. That has been normalized. And in defense we are a more solid team, but I feel like the line is the same.

The team is showing very strong in San Mamés.

It’s something we need, something we have since I coached at Athletic, which is our numbers at San Mamés. We had to improve them at any cost because for us it was important. There was a problem last year, something unusual for Athletic, which generally with any coach is strong at home. We moved under. Compared to what we have produced here, we have not achieved much. But in terms of the game and the dynamics I see it similar. The fact of being strong in San Mamés has given us a lot.

And also take back the victory against the opposing goal. Since Aduriz’s retirement, talk of a lack of goals has continued.

Yes, it’s true that we don’t have a player with that determination and those numbers in front of goal like Aduriz, but the fact that there are some footballers who take that responsibility is good for us. Furthermore, from the point of view of team structure, having several players sharing goals is ideal. We are happy because in the end the striker lives up to the feeling that he is converting chances. It’s something that gives more confidence and the team always takes a little more packing.