‘Real will be fighting up there’

Jose Angel believes that Real Sociedad are ‘close to last year’s level’ and that they will be ‘fighting to be amongst the best’ come the end of the season.

The San Sebastian outfit have endured an indifferent start to their 2013-14 campaign both in La Liga and in a first Champions League campaign in a decade.

However, the positives are there to be seen, according to their young left-back, who this term is also happier individually for featuring more in the first team.

“It’s always better when you have more minutes and I am happy on that part, but we all have to keep working,” considered Angel to reporters today.

“There are more games this year, and so there are minutes for everyone. I did not lose my ambition last year because I did not play.

“This year I have played more minutes and I have to focus on this as it is pointless to look back.

“The team’s form? I believe we are getting better. We have played twice each week recently, but we are increasingly getting used to it and are close to last year’s level.

“It is still too early to say if we can fight for fourth in the table as last year we did so slowly, without raising any rooftops, and I am sure that if we do the same, the team will fight to be amongst the best.”