Alemany: "There was absolute conviction that Marcelino should be leading this project"

Valencia CF director general Mateu Alemany explained to VCF Media just what qualifying for the Champions League for a second consecutive season means for the club, following the win against Valladolid on LaLiga Matchday 38.

"We had a very tough first half of the season. Nothing was working out for us, and the club had the patience and confidence that things were being done well -despite the results. The team always had faith, and they picked themselves back up," said Alemany after the final whistle in Valladolid.

"Valencia CF's second half of the season deserves enormous credit. We had little time to rest between games, given that we were fighting in three competitions until the last moment. I take my hat off to the players, the coaching staff, and the fans.

"I have to thank the 900 fans who came to Valladolid. There support was spectacular. We had a very tense week, because it was down to us and you never know what might happen in these types of games. We had a serious game and we deserved to win."

The director general and spokesman was asked about the pressure on the club to change coach when results were not going their way, emphasising that there was never any doubt about Marcelino's position.

"The club is the club, and we work with a clear organisational model, in which Peter Lim is at the helm and everything is done by consensus. There was absolute conviction that Marcelino should be leading this project on the sporting side."

"If we want to be the club that we aspire to be, then getting into the Champions League repeatedly is the big objective -even though it became nearly impossible for us," he said.