Jorge Sampaoli insists he would “die” for Sevilla after refusing to discuss his future ahead of Monday’s trip to Malaga in La Liga.
Sampaoli has been heavily linked with his native Argentine in recent weeks, but the Coach stressed that he was only thinking about Sevilla, who can move back into third with a win at their fellow Andalusians.
“My future? I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” he said at a Press conference.
“I’ve said it many times before and I don’t like to be separated from what I’m excited about today.
“Today I’m excited about the present. I’d die for this club, who appointed me. If I fail, it won’t be due to commitment but ability.
“Ultimately, I’m very much preoccupied with everything that has to do with the team.
“Concentration? I usually don’t have much of a role in my players’ personal lives. Being in concentration isn’t the same as the team being focused.
“I’m not a police officer that watches over the players, I always have a lot of belief in them.
“Concentration is for the sake of the team, but without the need for policing, which prevents the players from expressing themselves.
“We’re going to go [to Malaga] a day early because our hotel is being used for a carnival, but it has nothing to do with me.”
Malaga: Kameni; Munoz, Luis Hernandez, Diego Llorente, Ricca; Recio, Camacho; Keko, Fornals, Jony; Sandro
Injuries/suspensions: En Nesyri (S) Juanpi (I) Kone (I) Kuzmanovic (I) Penaranda (I) Rosales (doubtful)
Sevilla: Rico; Mercado, Pareja, Lenglet, Escudero; Kranevitter, N’Zonzi; Correa, Nasri, Sarabia; Ben Yedder
Injuries/suspensions: Iborra (doubtful) Krohn-Dehli, Mariano, Tremoulinas, Vitolo (all injured)
Referee: Martinez Munuera
Form guide: Malaga (W W L W W) Sevilla (W W D W L)
Previous meeting: Sevilla 4-1 Malaga
Kick-off time: 19:45 BST/20:45 CET
