Mendilibar: Our target has changed and it's now not to slip below eighth
The Armeros' boss has included all 18 available first-team players in his squad list
José Luis Mendilibar today revealed that in the wake of his side's victory over Villarreal, the team's target for the season has changed, with the Armeros now looking not to slip below their current eighth position in the standings.
Tomorrow sees Eibar entertain UD Las Palmas at Ipurua (19:30), with Mendilibar having called up the 18 available members of his first-team squad for the clash. Meanwhile, Nano, Anaitz Ariblla and Fran Rico all miss out through injury, whilst Takashi Inui is currently away in Japan.
"Sometimes what happens when you achieve your target for the season is that the performance levels drop off. However, we achieved our objective weeks ago now and we continue to compete well in the games. I think that we're in good shape. I don't think that the players will be easing off and we'll continue on in this vein until the end of the season. As the season has gone on, our targets have changed".
"We've continued to perform in the same way and have remained amongst the top 10, so the aim is now to finish amongst the top eight. After beating Villarreal, I've set us a target of not slipping beneath eighth spot and to do so we'll have to continue to win games, because if we don't, there'll always been teams there to overtake you. I've set this objective and am aware that it'll be tough with nine games still to go".
In Mendilibar's view, overcoming Villarreal on their own patch, "hands us that motivation to reflect on what we're doing, to realise that what we've achieved has been through hard work and a desire to go about things in the right way". "The fact that we've been in this position in the league for so long and that we came up against a side that are now direct rivals and managed to beat them whilst putting three goals past the division's meanest defence is a sign that we're doing something right. This gives us all satisfaction and you can see that during the week in training and with how happy the players are".
In terms of tomorrow's game, Mendilibar noted that Las Palmas, "are a special side, they're different to the rest of the teams". "There are other teams that start the season saying that they want to play a possession game and play in the opposition's half, but gradually each of the teams end up setting up in a way that's in line with their capabilities. However, they have maintained the same set-up and have been looking to play in the same way from the very first game up until now. They continue to look to keep the ball, make their opponents chase after them, play in central areas, create danger and pin the opposition back into their box".
"They're tough opponents. We enjoy the challenge presented by these types of matches and will be going all out to win. We'll just have to see who comes out on top at the end of the game".