Jose Luis Mendillibar pointed to the belief and work ethic of his Eibar players as reasons for the squad’s success following a rout of Granada.
A 5-1 victory took the Basques to sixth in the table with 33 points from 20 games, a better return than the likes of Sevilla, Valencia and Real Sociedad.
“We’ve gone a bit crazy, with so many points from so few matches and scoring so many goals,” Mendillibar said after the match, Marca reports.
“These are the numbers of a big team and I don’t know how long this will last. I’ve said for a while there’ll be a downturn. It’s taking longer and coming later. The players believe in what they do and will do until the end of the world.
“I don’t know how we scored so many, though the strikers have confidence. It’s because people believe, and everyone is giving their all.”
Mendillibar added that Eibar’s aim was still to avoid relegation, having finished in last season’s bottom three, only to be saved by Elche’s demotion for financial irregularities.
“I don’t know how many points we’ll need to stay up, but we’ve taken a decisive step, and we’ve left Granada behind,” the Coach continued.
“The two strikers, and others too, don’t just score goals, but they work. Everyone works hard and the opponent has a hard time. I appreciated their efforts.”
Eibar next face Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao and Mendillibar insisted Los Armeros would go to San Mames looking for three points.
“Athletic respect us for sure and will play with all their cards to win. We’ll go to Bilbao to win, because we can do it,” he stressed.
