Diego Simeone dismissed criticism of Atletico Madrid prior to Sunday’s meeting with Sevilla in La Liga. “I try to isolate myself when we lose and when we win.”
Los Colchoneros followed up their 2-0 defeat at Celta Vigo a week ago with a 1-0 reverse against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last 16, but the Coach insisted he was not interested in the media’s dissection of his side’s recent struggles.
“I don’t compare this team with last year’s. There are many new players and at the end [of the season] we can evaluate what this group achieve,” he said at a Press conference.
“We’re having a very good season. We’ve competed in the Copa del Rey and Champions League, [the latter of which] we’re still in.
“In La Liga, there’s the three of ourselves, Barcelona and [Real] Madrid, whom we’re trailing. At the end of the season, we’ll see if the season is good or very good.
“I don’t listen [to the criticism] or watch sports programmes. I try to isolate myself when we lose and when we win.
“There are always extremes. In the competition we’ve been in for the last three years [the Champions League], it’s logical that people demand certain expectations of us at certain times. It’s normal that criticism is strong.
“Rather than leave this pressure, we have to try to pressure our opponents. We have to feel good about ourselves, win the ball back and create chances like we have done in recent times.”