Terzić: "We want to be a difficult team to beat"

Edin Terzić reiterated that he wants his Athletic Club team to be competitive and "difficult to beat" as the Lions return to LaLiga action after a long international break.

Athletic's first match back sees them travel to Vallecas to face Rayo Vallecano on Saturday afternoon at 14:00 CEST. The gaffer believes it's a good opportunity to make a statement following draws in our last two league fixtures.

"We're growing and we're on the right track," Edin said at his pre-match press conference on Friday morning. "We want to be a team that’s hard to beat, but we're ready to show that we're not happy with our last two results."

The head coach explained he's used the international break "as a second pre-season" whilst giving some of Athletic's promising academy prospects "a chance to train with the first team".

He said: "We have a close connection with the academy and we're going to use Lezama to face any challenges we have. The first challenge is for these players to adapt to our physical demands, and once they have, we want them to raise that standard."

Despite some injury absences, the German tactician is convinced the Zurigorri are well placed to "compete at the highest level", emphasising that he has a deep squad at his disposal.

"We'll use the situation to give other players a chance and show them that they're important too."

As for Rayo, Edin pointed out that the Madrid side "are unbeaten at home" even though they've not played as Vallecas yet this season.

He continued: "They won’t be easy to beat because of the high press they apply, so we have to be prepared to contain them in that regard.

"I think we’ll see two teams focused on winning."