José Luis Mendilibar, Eibar coach, said this Saturday, after the defeat that his team has conceded in Ipurua against Levante, that although the emotional blow has been strong, the team does not have to look at who they are “last”, but “What points” are they from salvation and having it close can give them the “necessary strength” to “compete day by day”.
“We are four points, not twelve from salvation,” explained Mendilibar, “and we have to do our job, which is to win. Huesca was behind and four points have already passed us, Alavés, one point, Elche, Valladolid are close ”.
The gunsmith technician believes that the coaching staff is the first to raise their heads and transmit positive feelings to their players and trusts that when training comes, they will think “positive” and prepare with enthusiasm for the next match against Atlético de Madrid.
He believes that the formula is to try to make his players see that the other teams are not “getting out” either and thereby try to compete in each of the eight games that remain.
Mendilibar believes that his players have to calm down “a little more” and play with “ease” and recalled that although they have lost “a lot” of games, they are competing “in all”.
“But we want to get all of us in goal,” he added, “and that way it will be more difficult to score. Let's see if we can go back to being what we are again and from there try to improve. We cannot win the game individually ”.
Regarding today's meeting, he acknowledged that Eibar had not done too much “danger” and that Levante had taken them out of the good defensive line in the last play of the first half, in which the goal came and from it they obtained “advantage”.
For its part, Eibar has achieved centers, but has not reached “auction areas”. “We did not generate too much danger for them,” he said, “although they did not go against it either, but they had the score in favor and they left happy.”