MENDILIBAR: "I WOULD LIKE TO WIN AND CLAIM ANOTHER THREE POINTS"

José Luis Mendilibar appeared before the press today to preview the final LaLiga match of the season against Real Sociedad. The Sevilla coach, whose press conference revolved around the events of the last few days, recognised that the team is not as well prepared as it normally would be for this match at the Reale Arena: "There has not been time to prep for this match, I don't know in what state our side will be in for the game. We have won, we had a party and those memories will stay with us and with our fans, but until we go on holiday we will probably not realise exactly what we have achieved."

He spoke about what players were absent from training: "There is no issue with Gudelj, he just needed a bit of extra time for recovery. There are some who won't travel, like Marcao and Joan, who are doing better with their injuries but we would prefer for them to not play and go into the holiday period fully recovered, so that they can start pre-season fully fit."

Furthermore, the Sevilla coach spoke about how there will be time to speak about his contract renewal, and at the same time placed value on the time he has spent here as coach: "The proposal is to see what happens. Without the first promotion I would not have arrived here, you have got to get through different stages and everything along the way has helped me. This moment is more well-known, many people have congratulated me, but this and the promotion are similar achievements, because I achieved one of them when I was a coach for the first time and now I have won a trophy."

With regard to the praise that he has received from others, he noted that "it appeared when I arrived that I had come to a club that wished to achieve things at the top end of the game, a level that I had not coached at. The good thing is that in these situations there are people who think that it's never too late to be able to get to the top."

As well as admitting that he has not looked back on the game from Wednesday, he wished to speak about what the fans had given not just to him, but the team too: "When I got here the situation was bad, the fans were downbeat, the players and the club were not doing well... in a short amount of time we improved the situation. We were two points above the relegation zone and that didn't sit well with anyone, at this club we only talk about titles. The club turned to new coaches, but without the help of players none of this would have been possible. The fans were always behind us, but the team had to respond to this as it's a mutual relationship."

He was also asked for his thoughts on Jesús Navas' recall to the Spanish national side after some years: "For me, it's marvellous. That they have called up a 37 year old to the squad... it makes me happy because he is a brilliant man and I know he is going to do well. There is something in common between the RFEF and Sevilla, that is that both coaches know him." And to close, he spoke about how he would like the season to end with a victory: "If they give us a guard of honour, that's great. I would like to win and claim another three points. I know that we will not be in the best state, but we will try."