Marcelino: “We’re strong at home, we need to take advantage of that”

Marcelino García Toral reiterated that Athletic Club are difficult to overcome in Bilbao thanks to the San Mamés faithful. He added that it was an aspect which the Lions would need to make the most of in order to pick up all three points against RC Celta Vigo on Sunday evening (18:30 CEST).

The visitors from Galicia are without a victory in their last four matches, but Marcelino is certain they will pose a lot of danger at The Cathedral.

“RC Celta play good football, control possession and have quality players. They will force us to play a good and conceptually different game,” the boss said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday afternoon.

“Hopefully, we’ll have the precision needed in both areas to win again at San Mamés. We’re strong at home and we must take advantage of this so that, with the help of our fans, we can have a great game.”

When asked about the race for Europe, Marcelino repeated that the Lions need to focus on the match in front of them, stressing that looking beyond the next fixture could be detrimental to their chances.

He said: “We need a lot of points to get to sixth place, but everything depends on taking three points in our next match.

“We need to focus on the most immediate goal, which is beating RC Celta. After that we’ll have another match we have to win, but many teams in the league are playing for something now and they’ll all have their sights set on getting three points.

“There are 21 points left on the table and in the final stretch winning is even more difficult. Nonetheless, we’re motivated to get as many points as possible from these last seven matches. We’ll do everything in our power to achieve that.”