Valverde: “We want to give a good performance”
Valverde: “We want to give a good performance”
The head coach is hopeful Athletic can pick up a win in Seville to end the year on a high
Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde said his side are keen to hit the ground running and put on a display the late Txetxu Rojo would be proud of as they prepare for their return to LaLiga action.
With both Real Betis and Athletic fighthing for European qualification, and level on points in the league, Thursday night's clash at the Benito Villamarín (19:15 CET) has an added dimension.
"We're looking forward to restarting LaLiga and finishing the year well," Valverde said at his pre-match press conference.
"We have many reasons to be excited about the match. We want to win the last game of 2022, beat a direct rival and, above all, we want to give a good performance as a tribute to Txetxu Rojo, an Athletic Club legend."
🎙️ Ernesto Valverde ahead of #RealBetisAthletic
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) December 28, 2022
"There are a lot of reasons to be motivated. We want to win the last game of 2022, beat a direct rival and dedicate a victory to Txetxu Rojo, an Athletic legend who passed away recently."#AthleticClub 🦁
Real Betis are currently sixth in LaLiga Santander, with 24 points, and they only picked up one victory in their five fixtures prior to the World Cup, but Valverde warned they must not be underestimated.
He said: "Real Betis are having a great season. It's been like this for a long time, but this year they are combining two competitions and are still in the top positions in LaLiga. In the last few seasons Betis have gained a lot of stability in their game and that's reflected in the standings.
"They're very skilfull on the ball, they have a large squad and a lot of talent. Their forwards are in great form and they have very technical players in midfield. We have to be attentive and not lose our heads at any time. The trick is to play to win."
Los Leones trained hard over the World Cup break, not losing a single friendly during the period, and the coach is confident that work will bear fruit at the Benito Villamarín.
"We competed well in all the games we played this last month and I don't think we've lost any of the momentum we had," he added. "What we've tried to do is build on the concepts we've been working on."
"The last few away games didn't go as well as we'd hoped for and we've worked hard to improve that aspect. Tomorrow is a great opportunity to put the work we've done into practice."