Under-fire coach, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marcelo-c23554 Bielsa, has dismissed claims that the Copa del Rey could be a sanctuary for his much troubled club, Athletic Bilbao
Bilbao’s troubles are not receding. They are compounding by the day. The club is in a state of turmoil. Bielsa’s men are languishing on the 16th position in La Liga and they are in need of a total resurgence if they
want to qualify from their Europa League group.
Tonight they play against fellow Basques, Eibar, for their last 32 Copa del Rey encounter, and their boss, Bielsa, was quick to reassure everyone that this cup is not their refuge.
“We are fighting at the bottom of the League, so there is no oasis.”
Los Leones are currently on a losing streak. They have managed to win only one match from their last five fixtures in all competitions. It is a run of defeats that are surely a cause of concern for the club and their mercurial
Argentine coach.
However, Bielsa has played down his team’s recent poor run and is trying to take the positives from this. He admits his team are in a precarious situation but at the same time he feels this state is exactly what will motivate his
players to turn things around.
“The succession of defeats has not affected our collective. It would be much more worrisome if it had. For now, yes it saddens us, but it multiplies our desire to reverse the situation that we are in.”
Meanwhile, the coach also talked about the condition of their host’s ground. Eibar have a small stadium which is not ideal for big matches. However, Bielsa is not complaining and feels it is something that both teams have to live
with.
“Both teams will play with the same difficulties, but we are prepared, and must find solutions.”
Finally, the 57-year-old coach also believes his team didn’t deserve to lose against Getafe last week.
“We played better than Getafe. There are defeats that are deserved and defeats that are undeserved. You have to observe how we lost,” he concluded.
As things stand right now, the mood at the San Mames is stale and subdued.
Tags: