Vesga: “We’re only thinking about defeating Eibar”

Athletic Club midfielder Mikel Vesga stressed that the Lions are not looking beyond Saturday’s LaLiga Santander clash with Basque rivals SD Eibar at San Mamés (14:00 CET).

It is the last match before Athletic face Real Sociedad in last season’s postponed Copa del Rey final on April 3.

With the Rojiblancos six points off Villarreal in seventh place and as the season is drawing to an end, Vesga insisted the team can’t afford to take their eyes off the ball when it comes to this campaign’s targets.

“It’s difficult not to get excited when you walk around Bilbao and speak with people,” Vesga admitted during his press conference. “But right now LaLiga is the most important thing.

“We have to go game by game. First, we face Eibar on Saturday. Where we end up this season is going to impact the next one, we have to be aware of that.

“We’re only thinking about winning at San Mamés.  Those three points are crucial if we want to look up the table. It will also be a good way to head into April.”

Eibar, in 19th place in the table, are in the midst of a relegation battle and Vesga warned that they’ll be taking the clash very seriously.

He said: “Knowing what’s at stake, they’re going to make it a very tough match. We’ll have to be at our best.

“They’re press high and give you very little time to play. We have to play in their half and be strong in the tackle.”

Vesga said his teammates are in high spirits and are working hard on the finer details ahead of the fixture.

“When we iron out those small details, we’re going to be very difficult to beat.”