Valverde: “We want to beat Osasuna at San Mames”

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde wants to see Los Leones put right their recent poor home record against CA Osasuna.

The Zurigorri have drawn three, lost one and won once in their last five home league matches against the Pamplona-based outfit and the gaffer is keen for Athletic to change that dynamic.

"It's true Osasuna aren't in a good moment in terms of results," Valverde said. "They're save mathematically and there's no pressure on them.

"But this is a derby and there's always an extra emotional element in these matches. They're going to come strong and try to stop us from winning. We'll have to play well.

"We struggled against them last year, we couldn't beat them. Although we dominated the matches at San Mames, we didn't get to the Copa final and we couldn't score against them in LaLiga either. This will be a good test for us.

"In this season's reverse fixture we were under a lot of pressure because we had lost the opening match of the season. We played well a good game and defended well, even when we were down to ten men at the end.

"We want to beat them at home once and for all."

With Athletic six points behind Atlético Madrid and just 12 points left to play for, Valverde admitted that it won't be easy to qualify for next season's Champions League.

He said: "When you lose the upper hand, it's no longer up to you. It's always better to depend on yourself in the last few matches and that's no longer the case for us.

"We had the chance to take it in those back-to-back home matches before we lost in Madrid. Since then it's been difficult because Atlético are a solid team in terms of results. They have two home games left and we know they're tough to beat there.

"Our intention is to win tomorrow and then try to do it again next week. We'll see how it goes from there."

As for his future, Valverde reiterated that there was no update but he's relaxed about the matter, saying: "My priority has always been Athletic."