Ernesto Valverde believes Athletic Bilbao’s lowly position will “spice” up Sunday’s Basque derby against Real Sociedad in La Liga.
Athletic have lost four of their first five League matches this season, including their 2-1 defeat at Real Madrid midweek, and the Coach admits his side’s need to add points to their haul makes the Anoeta showdown all the more significant.
“Our performances haven’t been bad, but we need to start translating [our performances] into points,” he said at a Press conference.
“We have a plan and an idea of the game, which we’ll stick to. We’re optimistic but also realistic and we can see that we’re down the bottom.
“[Our position] adds extra spice [to the derby] so early in the season.
“[Real] have better morale coming into the match after their victory over Granada, although there isn’t much difference between the two teams.
“[Imanol Agirretxe] has good movement and is a good finisher. When he’s on a streak, he keeps it up.
“Real’s biggest quality in recent years has been their centre. Although [Carlos] Vela might not be at his best at the moment, he always does well against us.
“In addition, [Asier] Illarra has brought them clarity through the middle.
“[On Inigo Lekue’s renewal until 2018], he deserves it. We must congratulate the player and club because he’s a player with a great future.
“He is strong, very fast and wants to learn. He needs to improve on certain things but is in the process [of doing so].”
