GARCÍA PIMIENTA: "WE HAVE TO MATCH THEIR INTENSITY WHILE STAYING TIGHT AT THE BACK"

Our first-team head coach, Xavi García Pimienta, attended Friday's press conference ahead of Sunday's game against Athletic Club at San Mamés in Bilbao. The  coach began by admitting that "unfortunately we are more vulnerable in midfield due to injuries, but we're not going to make excuses. We have players from the reserve team and others who can help in any situation. Let's see if Sambi can train a bit more tomorrow and whether he can be fit in time for the Bilbao trip, In the previous game, people came off the bench and gave us enough energy."

"It's a shame about Saúl because of everything he brings to the team. The worst thing that can happen to a player is to be forced on the sidelines and this is also quite serious given that Saúl has never had this type of injury before. We can consider ourselves lucky that he will hopefully only be out for around two months. Pedro Ortiz has different characteristics to Saúl, he is more of a positional pivot, like Agoumé or Nema [Gudelj]. He is training very well and is available if we need him," he continued.

"We're going to a ground where you have to be fully alert for 95 minutes"

García Pimienta also underlined how important it is that "the club is showing great confidence in the work that we're doing." 

"I watched Athletic yesterday. They never stopped believing and they secured a valuable point. They have been growing a lot under Valverde, they are historic in Spanish football and they generate lots of atmosphere in their stadium. They have won a lot, they are in a good moment, so we have to be 100% focused. We're going to a ground where we have to stay focused for 95 minutes and counteract and match their intensity in attack while remaining tight at the back," he said of the opposition. 

"We go to Bilbao with no excuses and hope to compete"

"We have now played three games in which we've picked up two wins and one defeat, doing some things well and others not so well. Now is comes a demanding period and then the derby. We are taking it step by step. We're going to focus on Bilbao, we're going with some players injured but without excuses to compete well in order to leave feeling positive, not like how we left Vitoria.

"Here they only talk about Athletic. It took a great effort to beat Valladolid and we have to continue to show we are capable of wining and recovering from an adverse situation. The next game will be very demanding so we only have energy to think about this one," he concluded.