Garitano: “We competed outstandingly”

“I’m really proud of the job the team has done. We’ve played three matches in six days and we were battling huge tiredness. The team competed it outstandingly until the end. I’m really glad”, commented Gaizka Garitano in the press conference held after Athletic’s one-nil win over Real Betis.

The coach from Derio admitted that “the tiredness was evident at some points, but that’s something you must expect to happen with the new pace the competition has taken. Yet we’re getting to the end of the games with strength.” Garitano feels sorry for not being able to add a second goal: “We started the game really well and it’s a shame we couldn’t score the second. We hit the crossbar twice and created a one-on-one occasion. If we had scored it, we’d have settled the game.”

As for their fight for entering the European competition, the red-and-white manager believes that “our results are good so far. We know it will be difficult, since the demands are huge, but we accept them.”