Diego Simeone has made it clear that Atletico Madrid are only looking over their shoulders, as his side prepare to face Elche on Saturday.
Los Colchoneros currently sit third in La Liga and possess a healthy lead over fellow Champions League rivals Sevilla and Valencia.
However, the Coach is not prepared to rest on his laurels just yet, even if he is ignoring Real Madrid and Barcelona's grip on the top two places.
"It's very clear to me. We're three points ahead of Sevilla, which is a lot, and five of Valencia, which is a good number, but there's still a long way to go," he said at a Press conference.
"It's too early to comment as this, but the reality is that I only look at Sevilla and Valencia. I don't know about the rest.
"Inferences can only be made at the end of the season, but the team are always improving and growing. That gives us the opportunity to be competitive.
"We always know how difficult away encounters are, and the enthusiasm and need of our opponents, which are the same as ours.
"Beyond the intensity, we need clarity and identify clearly where we believe we can do damage.
"They have two very good strikers, who are their reference points, and attack spaces.
"We'll have to be quick and play with a good intensity, which'll lead us to the outcome we want."
Simeone then praised his Atleti players for showing 'attitude' during their 3-0 Copa del Rey victory over L'Hospitalet on Wednesday, but not before offering a cryptic assessment of the Spanish media.
"The team responded very well against L'Hospitalet and therefore we want to continue working ahead of such a tough game," he added.
"I always appreciate the game more by looking at the attitude, and I think when you watch a game, you can clearly see the attitude within the players' movements.
"The team had a better game in the second half than the first, and of course we took positive things from the result, some not so much, but there's still a lot to be done.
"You [the media] watched the match. I think you're all very good writers and explain each situation with good detail. Football is very simple to analyse."
