Valverde: “We need the points, everyone needs to have that mindset"

Ernesto Valverde has sought to issue a message of unity before his final derby at San Mames, urging everyone at Athletic Club to adopt the "mindset" needed heading into the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

Tuesday's clash with CA Osasuna is crucial for the Rojiblancos’ hopes in the competition, especially given that we currently sit six points between heaven and hell, a precarious position that leaves little room for error.

On the verge of reaching the historic milestone of 500 matches in charge of the men's first team, the gaffer is well aware of the vital role the fans will play in the remaining matches.

“We need the points, and everyone needs to have that mindset,” the gaffer said in an interview with club media.

“We have to take the first step. If we give our all to the fans, they’ll give it back to us twofold. With our determination and that of the fans, we’re capable of beating Osasuna and achieving much more.”

Valverde pointed to Athletic's achievements over the past two years as proof of what this club can do: a Copa del Rey, Europa League semi-finals and Champions League qualifications.

He said: "When we’ve all come together at this club and worked towards a common goal, we’ve been able to achieve incredible things."

Emphasising that, naturally, the first primary goal is to secure mathematical safety, the manager stressed that "it’s an exercise in humility, which isn’t at odds with ambition".

He continued: "We must face this situation without fear, with confidence. We’re not where we’d like to be. We’re six points from the relegation zone and six points off a European place.

"We need to focus on what matters most to us, which is the fact that the teams below us are closing the gap. We need to have a response to that, because that’s what matters most to the club. 

"The Villarreal match was a tough one. Tough for us because of the opposition, tough because of the result, and tough because of the situation we’re in right now. But, at the same time, I saw a lot of positives from it, a lot of positives.

"The first and most important thing is that, despite the difficulties, despite the score at half-time, despite the fact that our fans were clearly getting impatient with us, and despite the fact that we were also perhaps playing with too much nervousness…

"Despite all that, the team put in a great performance, bearing in mind that Villarreal could have caused us a lot of trouble and we stayed in the game right until the end, always creating chances to score and always looking to play close to their box."

Valverde warned that the threat of relegation is one Athletic must accept if they're to truly face it with the seriousness it deserves, insisting that we cannot afford to be complacent.

"I’m not going to talk about 100 years ago, but since I made my debut in the First Division exactly 40 years ago, in 1986, every team except Athletic, Real Madrid and Barcelona has been relegated to the Second Division: Real Sociedad, Atlético, Villarreal, Sevilla, Valencia… but not us.

"We need to be humble and recognise that, if it’s happened to others, it could happen to us too. We need to bear that in mind right from the start of the season, and we need to be aware of it and acknowledge it.

"That’s something I’ve always been clear about, always, always. We’re not going to forget that last year we finished fourth, that we won a trophy not long ago, that we’ve always been around the European places over the years, but now we’re facing a challenge.

"The season has been difficult and, perhaps, we haven’t quite lived up to what was required or what we wanted, but that’s in the past now.  We need to value this because it gives meaning to the legend of Athletic throughout its history. But first things first, and the first thing is that we have to pick up the points so that afterwards we can set our sights on other goals.

"I think we’ve lacked a bit of the right mindset in recent matches, and we need to realise that teams like Sevilla, Valencia, Getafe, Espanyol, Alavés, Mallorca and Elche… know they’re playing to avoid relegation.

"But who knows, if we win our next match, anything could happen, so we’ve got to go for it and focus solely on that."

Next Tuesday, Athletic host CA Osasuna at San Mames, “an opponent who have visited us three times in the league and twice in the Copa in recent years, and we haven’t beaten them".

The gaffer added: "It’s a crucial match with a lot at stake, but I’ve always had faith in what our players are capable of doing: which is beating anyone. 

"We’ve stood our ground here against top Champions League sides. Look at how the Champions League semi-finals are panning out, the group we had and how we enjoyed it.

"Obviously, we’re now in a situation where we desperately need to win, and we’re obviously going to give it our all."