Marcelino: "Today we confirmed that we are in good shape"

Valencia CF's valuable victory against Athletic Club on Matchday 26 was praised by coach Marcelino in his post-match press conference, but he insisted that there was little to differentiate it from previous games in which the results haven't been so favourable.

"The team didn't do anything different to the matches that we drew in the last few weeks. However, today we were effective, we scored two extraordinary goals and we confirmed that we are in good shape," he remarked.

"However, I think that we also deserved to win against Real Sociedad and Espanyol, and those games ended in draws. The most important thing is that we have ended our run of draws in LaLiga and we've taken advantage of the momentum we have from the Copa del Rey. I think that we were clearly superior today."

Talking about Athletic's play, he explained that "They threw a lot of players forward, and that always generates doubts. But we didn't give an inch and that gives us the security to continue picking up wins. Roncaglia has adapted very quickly and we are very happy with him."

Asked about rotations, Marcelino pointed out the need to rest players during this busy run of fixtures.

"We have to keep things fresh, and Carlos Soler is a very important player. Every player has ups and downs, and if they didn't play today, they will play again soon. We have a very high level of fitness, football and mentality at the moment."

"I think that LaLiga is very tough and it's hard to win any game, even for the big sides. There are few thrashings and big victories. We're seeing more draws than ever and wins by 1-0 or 2-1. I think that it's going to continue like that until the end. Now we are going to focus on the game against FC Krasnodar and then Girona. We've played 42 matches so far, and last year we played 46. The players are making an enormous effort and we are proud of them."