Simeone: "The players have had an impressive season so far"

The Argentine coach expects a tough match because Celta Vigo will demand the best of their men. For him, the Galician side need the points as much as Atletico Madrid need them to achieve their goals. "We have to win to keep heading toward the goal that we had at the beginning of the season. We come up against an opponent who has the same need for points as us. They want to get out of an uncomfortable part of the table, while we want to qualify directly for the Champions League" he said.

Getafe's victory against Real Sociedad mean that Atletico would enter directly in to the Champions League as third place finishes if they are to win in Vigo tomorrow. "We have 69 points so far. We do not want to give anything to anyone. The lads so far have made an amazing season. Tomorrow we have a tough match, which gives us the possibility to go straight in to the Champions League next year and not have to do the qualifying rounds," he said.

We have improved the team's commitment

 The coach from Buenos Aires is not content with the season so far, all remaining games are very important for the Argentine coach and if they do tie up third place tomorrow, they will not relax there, they will continue to try to improve. "I always expect to see improvements from everyone, the coaching staff, players and myself. We are at an important time for the club. We have to work and operate in the best way to end the season as good as possible. Hopefully we can ensure direct access to the Champions League." he said.

Simeone was proud of his team in defense. "When we arrived, we looked at the numbers and obviously saw we had to try to improve the defensive side. We have improved the team's commitment. Courtois is taking the plaudits, but it has been an extraordinary job by the whole group. This speaks of the strength as a team, to begin to grow, no doubt, it is an important point."

Asked about the recovery of Arda Turan, the technician reassured fans about the health of the Turk. "Arda is improving, we talk to him to bring him back the best way possible so that he can then provide what he has contributed to the games he has played, to the coming games. We'll see tomorrow if he is ready for some more time and, consequently, will go slowly leading to up to the final."

Celta have great players. In River, Simeone worked with Augusto Fernández and praised his work over the years. "Augusto has grown tremendously since I had him at River. He was always a player with great physical strength and willingness to work collectively. He did very well at Velez and now at Celta he is a very important player."

Diego Pablo Simeone finished the press conference encouraging his players and the fans to support the team in this final stretch of the competition. "We have 20 amazing days because the games will have an environment that will awaken the public. In Corunna it was a spectacular setting, in Vigo it will be the same and the Calderon against Barcelona will be the same. Hopefully we can keep up in these last days to finish the season as well as possible."