Marcelino: “We must be motivated and ambitious throughout the season”

Athletic Club head coach Marcelino García Toral made it clear what kind of attitude he expects from the senior squad ahead of their first training session of the 2021-22 pre-season.

The Lions’ first sessions at Lezama took place on Wednesday evening, and from July 16-24 the squad will hold a training camp in Switzerland, where they will play friendlies against FC St. Gallen, Dynamo Kyiv and Borussia Dortmund.

“I think in the short-term and what’s most immediate is what I care about most,” Marcelino said at a press conference at Lezama. “First of all we must train well, and after that the goal is to win the next match.

“But at the same time, we must maintain our motivation and ambition throughout the campaign in order to fight for Europe. We know that it will be difficult, but we are starting with the aim of achieving the best possible results.”

Marcelino reiterated how excited he was to get a full pre-season under his belt with the squad, saying: “We are looking forward to pre-season. We have five weeks to try to make the most of it and start the competition in the best possible shape.”

After Bilbao Athletic’s fine 2020-21 campaign, several Cubs will be taking part in pre-season training along with players returning to Lezama after loan spells away, and Marcelino admitted he can’t wait to see how they get on.

“We are going to continue to trust the players we have here,” Marcelino said. “We are placing our faith in the youngsters who have come up from the reserves. We have high hopes in them.”

Athletic’s coach insisted on the need to keep raising the side’s competitive level, he said: “The important thing is to maintain our style of play and the structure. From there we have to add little touches to improve our game.

“We have to compete well and take every match as seriously as possible. Tempo and intensity will allow us to fight in the top half of the table.”