Bayer boss Javi Alonso insists last weekend’s celebrations will not affect his players when they face West Ham in the second leg of the Europa League quarter final in Stratford tonight.
However the Spanish coach insisted that his side will be fully focused on completing the job in London, to where they bring a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
When asked during his press conference whether or not his players had partaken in a few celebratory drinks, Alonso replied: “A few of them, probably. But not too many. We had control.
“For sure it was a moment to enjoy it. On Sunday we knew we had a chance so we took one day, in case of winning, to enjoy it.
“But from Tuesday our mind has been focused on West Ham. Now it’s the Europa League and we have a great chance to make a great season even better. The commitment, the way we’ve trained, give me reasons to believe we will play well tomorrow.”
Yet despite carrying a two-goal advantage into the tie, Alonso maintained that his side will have to be at their best in order to preserve their unbeaten record this season.
“We have a big challenge ahead,” he warned. “West Ham have good players and they have recent experience of beating Freiburg. We need to put in our best performance.
“Our mentality won’t be any different from the one that has given us this chance to reach the quarter-final.”
You may watch Alonso’s press conference in full below.
