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Valverde: "I'm confident and eager to get started"

Valverde: "I'm confident and eager to get started"

The gaffer wants the team to be "mentally focused and prepared" ahead of "a long and demanding" campaign

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde is feeling optimistic as Los Leones get set to kick-off the 2024/25 campaign.

The Zurigorri will get the new season underway in Bilbao as San Mames hosts Jose Bordalas' Getafe CF on Thursday night at 19:00 CEST.

"I'm confident and eager to get started," Valverde said at his first pre-match press conference of the season.

"All the tests and ideas we tried out in pre-season were done with aim of being a little bit better than before.

"LaLiga is the most important part of the season. It's a competition that's not subject to luck. We have to stick to that approach, the same as last year. Tomorrow is a tough game and we want to win and put points on the board."
 


A pre-season injury crisis means Los Azulones will go into the opening fixture slighty short-staffed, with Bordalas naming an 18-man squad, including three goalkeepers, for Thursday's match.

Nonetheless, Valverde is expecting a difficult match against "the Getafe we all know".

He said: "They don't have a lot of players available, but those that are there know how Getafe want to play.

"A tough, difficult team. They play with high defensive line and they make you work in every duel. We haven't beaten them at home for a while. I'm expecting a tough game to start LaLiga."

To conclude, Valverde warned it will be important to get off to a good start, especially as it will be a long and demanding season.

"We're playing in another competition and that increases our number of matches. We have to be aware of the impact that might have on other competitions.

"From tomorrow onwards, we need to be focused and ready. So far the bullets have been blanks, but tomorrow they're real bullets."