“No time to dwell” on Copa del Rey defeat, says Athletic Club’s Valverde | OneFootball

Ernesto Valverde insisted that there is “no time to dwell” on Athletic Club’s midweek Copa del Rey defeat, as the zurigorri prepare to face Real Oviedo in LaLiga on Sunday.

Beñat Turrientes’ netted the decisive goal as Real Sociedad claimed victory over their Basque rivals in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday, extending a poor run of form that leaves Athletic Club chasing just their second LaLiga victory since December 6.

Speaking in his pre-Oviedo press conference, Valverde admitted that while “it’s only the first leg […] it’s not the result we wanted.

“We have an important match tomorrow, there’s no respite in terms of rest days. There’s no time to dwell on it.”

Athletic Club have, as a result of their poor form in recent months, seemingly slipped out of the battle for continental football and now sit closer to the relegation spots than the European places.

But the zurigorri boss proposed that if his side were to embark on a winning run, nothing is out of the question given how congested the lower half of the table is.

“There isn’t much difference between all the teams up there,” he explained. “Espanyol are having a great season and aren’t far away, but the teams behind aren’t far off either. The most important thing for us is to keep picking up points.

“We need them, because we haven’t collected as many as we wanted.

“All teams, for one reason or another, need victories. Our priority is this match and seeing how we can beat them. Nobody wins easily and we have to try and come away with all three points,” said the 62-year-old.

Real Oviedo have won just three games all season, with one of those victories coming last time out when they welcomed Girona to the Carlos Tartiere a fortnight ago.

Speaking about Sunday’s opponents, Valverde warned that “they’re playing well and always look capable of winning.

“They beat Girona, and they look fresh, like a team that plays forward and isn’t afraid to do so.

“They always give themselves a chance to get into the game, although it’s true that maybe they haven’t been clinical.”

Real Oviedo v Athletic Club kicks off at 13:00 GMT on Sunday 15 February.