Espanyol boss Sergio Gonzalez says his team should not be judged on the usual poor end to the season the club has shown in recent years.
In addition, the Catalan Coach has dismissed accusations in some quarters that his players might ease off in the run-in towards the end of the campaign.
Instead, he insists, they are still showing great enthusiasm and are only concentrating on Thursday’s game away to Villarreal.
“I’m surprised at this because in Spain you are supposed to be innocent until proven otherwise,” Sergio told a Press conference.
“In our last game, which we drew 1-1 with Elche, we were not up to our normal level but people had already came up with idea that what happened would happen.
“A hasty judgement had been made. I don’t know if it’s the fans who are to blame, the environment we are in, or a bit of both, but I think this team deserves some leeway.
“We have great enthusiasm and aim to finish as high as possible in the standings, starting with the game at Villarreal. We are professionals and must turn away from anything that interferes with our work.
“Villarreal are a team that plays good football, with a system that has been developed over time, and they manage possession well. They will demand a lot of us and we’ll need to play a great game.”
The 38-year-old denied his team had taken a downward turn since the semi-final Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao.
“There are a lot of stages in a season and I don’t share the impression that we’ve dropped off. We’ve taken a small step back but have improved defensively.
“We have to try and reverse the situation by having the right attitude and being the team we were before. I think we can do that,” he declared.
