Marcelino: “The second half was marvellous”

Athletic Club manager Marcelino García Toral refused to take any of the plaudits for the Lions’ 5-1 victory over Getafe at San Mamés, instead he praised the performance and attitude of his players.

The Rojiblancos achieved a result for the ages as they put Getafe to the sword with a lethal showing at San Mamés on Monday night.

“I did nothing,” Marcelino said during his post-match press conference. “The players are the true main characters here.

“I can only be appreciative of how they’ve received us since day one. 

“They play like they train and they train like what they are… lions.”

Marcelino highlighted Athletic’s refusal to be beaten or lose faith, despite the shock of conceding a goal within the first 20 seconds of the fixture.

“The team was able to recover from the first goal,” Marcelino added. “We equalised after a great team move and in the first half we played really well at times, although the penalty made us stutter a bit.

“The truth is that we lost a bit of composure until half-time. 

“But the second half was marvellous.”

The manager also recognised the impact winning the Super Cup has had on the squad’s confidence, saying: “When you get positive results, your confidence grows.

“It’s clear the level of competitiveness shown at the Supercopa was a massive boost for this squad.

“Today, like I said pre-match, was a very important match. We were closer to the bottom part than the top part of the league table and we needed to win.

“On top of that, to win the way just doubles the sense of satisfaction. 

He continued: “The only thing I regret is not being able to enjoy a night like this, with the Supercopa trophy in the stands and five goals in a game, with our people.

“But the situation is what it is. Hopefully the fans will be will us soon and we’ll keep going down this path  so that they can continue to be proud of their team.”