Emery:Top-four finish will be hard

Valencia coach Unai Emery reckons it will be hard for his side to secure a place in next season’s Champions League.

The club sit third in La Liga standings on 40 points following Sunday’s 4-0 demolition of Sporting Gijon, with several other clubs also in contention for a top-four finish.

“It will be hard for us to stay in the Champions League places,” Emery told reporters after the match.

“Winning this league is very hard and we are not at the same level as Real Madrid or Barcelona, it is very hard for us to beat everyone.”

The 40-year-old coach signalled the importance of collecting the three points against Sporting Gijon in order to remain at least five points clear in third place.

“We knew that Sporting Gijon closed down very well and that the victory would depend on ourselves, on our capacity to break the deadlock,” Emery said.

“After we were 1-0 up, the match was more open and that benefited everyone. We are happy to keep a winning run.”