Pellegrini: Being First Is Not The Obsession, Winning Is!

Villarreal are one of the most solid and hard working sides in La Liga and in Manuel Pellegrini they have one of the best managers in Spain undoubtedly.

The Chilean joined back in 2004 and has seen his side develop into real contenders for silverware over the years thanks to his guidance. Now they are joint top of the league after six games but he says being first is not the be all and end all, rather winning games is.

"To be leaders is not an obsession," he started, "We desire to keep winning to be at the top and don't worry about what Valencia do or if we remain first."

"We are in the seventh round [of matches] and it does not have any significance but each point that we drop the objectives do move further away," he mused today.

Next up for El Submarino Amarillo are Espanyol who beat them three nil last season in this fixture but Pellegrini insists revenge is not on the menu.

"We are not out for revenge, that is something none of us want. We go with a desire to take all three points so it helps us to continue up the table," said the Chilean.

Pellegrini's job is not being made any easier by the fact that Villarreal currently have a growing injury list and key players like Sebastián Eguren, Ariel Ibagaza, Nihat Kahveci and Mati Fernández will be out for this match. He admits that whilst they arrive at a bad time though there are others who can step in and do the job.

"All the injuries arrive at a bad time and in the case of Eguren even more so since he was in great form. However, we have players like Edmilson and Bruno who without doubt can fill in ably," he concluded.


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