Athletic Club midfielder Dani Garcia has maintained that the Basque giants are convinced of getting into Europe, despite their 5-1 hammering at the hands of Villarreal last season.
Los Leones look unlikely to make the Europa League this season now, with an eight-point gap to Real Betis in sixth, and just four games to go. However they are just a point away from a Conference League place, with only Girona ahead of them.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Garcia told MD that there is frustration in the Athletic camp.
“We are convinced that we can go to Europe and we want it. We want to make the fans happy and it bothers us to be in this situation. We had it more or less in our hands, because we depended more on ourselves more than on what our rivals do, and now we are in the situation that we depend on everyone else too. We must win and then look at what our rivals.”
He would go on to say that if they do fail to reach their objective, European qualification, it would be due to a lack of quality, rather than effort or desire.
Athletic promised plenty in the early stages of the season, but the age-old issue at Athletic has reared its head again. The lack of a natural goalscorer continues to hinder a team that create plenty of chances, but are unable to finish them, as was the case against Villarreal.