‘La Liga is Sevilla’s priority’

Unai Emery has maintained that Sevilla’s immediate priorities lie in La Liga, not the Europa League, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Deportivo La Coruna.

A run of three defeats in their last five League matches has seen the Andalucians fall away from Champions League contention in recent weeks, with Valencia opening up a six-point lead on fourth place, fuelling suggestions that their progress in Europe’s second-tier competition has come at a cost.

“We want to maintain and enhance our credibility in the League, which marks our level of achievement and consistency,” the Coach said at a Press conference.

“[La Liga] is the best judge of a team’s evolution and indicates whether their main objectives are on track to be met.

“We must translate this [awareness] into every game. We now have a challenge to improve on our recent defeats [in La Liga].

“The team have lost important points, but we now have an opportunity, not only to add [points] but also regain credit, character and strength, which the team showed during their best moments.

“We always look at the top [of the table] because the more we look at the top, the more we can distance ourselves from teams below us.

“[On Saturday], three points would put us on 49, which would give us strength in qualifying [for the Champions League]. Although we wouldn’t catch up with anyone, we’d show signs of improvement.

“I only think about the next game, and for us it’s Depor. It’s obvious that being able to compete against some of the best teams in Europe is a good thing, but the League is our priority.

“Consistency is what’s needed for us to achieve our objectives. I’m not thinking about Villarreal on Thursday but only being in Europe next year.”

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