Marcelino has lavished praise on Villarreal for their ‘optimism and ambition’ ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Granada in La Liga.
The Yellow Submarine’s 18-match unbeaten streak came to an end against Barcelona last week, but they can close the gap on fourth-placed Sevilla to just a point with victory over Abel Resino’s resurgent Andalucians.
"We are extremely optimistic and ambitious. These two traits are helping us have a very good season,” the Coach told reporters.
“Granada come [into this match] on the back of four points out of a possible six. They have a new Coach and will certainly prove very difficult to beat.
“We mainly think about the here and now, but also the next game. Both the Europa League and Copa del Rey inspire us, and we need to assess how to continue adding three points in La Liga and progress further in other competitions.
“Approaching February in three competitions indicates we’ve been winning games, and those teams finish the season highly.
“It’s normal to shake things up [at times]. What we’ve done so far has extraordinary merit. Valencia and Sevilla have played fewer games than us, like Atletico Madrid.”
