Unai Emery underlined that it will be crucial to stay focused and be demanding against Athletic Club
Villarreal CF head coach Unai Emery appeared in a remote press conference this morning to analyse the upcoming league tie with Athletic Club (Tuesday, 10pm CET). “Athletic have always had good players. They have intensity and quality. I’ve never had a calm game facing Athletic. I’m expecting a very competitive rival. Every time there are a few doubts about them, they respond with wins. We have to have a lot of respect for them ahead of the game. Two draws at home are games where you’ve dropped points, however close they were. Tomorrow we will have another chance to show our regularity. A win would give us more confidence. Every match is of maximum importance.”
The Basque manager also underlined the different options to deal with the high number of injuries to midfielders: “Managers look for solutions. Foyth is adapting to that position and we’re very happy with his predisposition. That’s one option, although we also have Moi and Jaume, who can play in the middle.”
Finally, Emery underlined that his team is in good form, and highlighted the importance of continuing to grow: “Winning in Pamplona makes us feel happy, but we need to continue to grow. There are teams behind us in the table who are closing the gap. We need to continue on the path we’re on. The challenge we have is to be able to show continuity while facing a demanding level. We will need to impose ourselves on Athletic. Garitano has given the team a very defined way of playing, which is very competitive. They have a lot of potential and they never give up. I have a lot of respect for them from a distance. We will have to impose our way of playing on them, against a team that presses very well. Individual battles will also be very important.”
