Valverde: “We're doing well, but this is a long race”

Athletic Club boss Ernesto Valverde has stressed the players are remaining level headed despite their great start to the campaign, insisting there is a long way to go.

Los Rojiblancos are still unbeaten and have yet to concede a goal so far this season. Last week's 0-4 win over Cádiz CF means Athletic currently occupy fourth place in the table with seven points on the board.

"The dressing room is not euphoric or anything. We're confident because we wanted to get points and we're in a good position in the league," Valverde said at a pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday's match against RCD Espanyol at San Mamés (16:15 CEST).

"Little by little we're achieving things, but we know this is a very long race. Every game is a battle in which you have to fight to the end."

He continued: "We're doing well, it's been a week in which we've recovered players who were injured and we've just come from winning on Monday, but that's all in the past. Tomorrow we have a tough game, we want to continue with this run and the team is training well. We've won two games in a row and it's normal that people get excited when you win.

"The problem with football is that after one match there is always another and you have the obligation to win. We're happy with the way we won the other day, but every match is a test and tomorrow will be a tough one too."

Even though RCD Espanyol are yet to win this a match in 2022/23, Valverde warned they will be tough opposition, saying their results do not match how well they have played.

"They're a competitive and intense team and they showed ambition against Real Madrid. They only have one point, but it's not a very clear picture of what they've done. I expect a difficult game against an opponent that fights for everything. They're in the process of adapting to what the new coach wants and I think they look good."

Valverde put the Lions' recent upturn in fortunes in the final third down to having a balanced approach between attack and defence.

He said: "It's about generating goal-scoring situations and then trying to convert them. The more you have, the more chances you have to win. It's good for us that the team is creating chances, because we may have some difficulties when it comes to finishing, but in the long run it's going to pay off.

"What we don't want is to produce an imbalance between what we create and what our opponents create. That's why we're not conceding much either. We're a team that plays with tempo, it's a characteristic of Athletic. We want our opponents to feel that. Together with structure and cohesion, we know this will win us a lot of points."