With an SMFA European shield Final to come against Arsenal and a 6th place finish in the league secured, the Espanyol supporters and management team are thrilled with whats been one of the clubs best ever seasons.

Last nights 2-0 victory over the Champions Chelsea, set a new club record 7 straight league wins, but also extended the teams unbeaten run to 15. Having only took 21 points from the first 19 games this season, to secure 37 points from the last 19 is some turn around.

There have been some major highlights this season including victories over Chelsea, Real Madrid and Porto, whilst the run to the clubs first ever cup final, has the club daring to dream that they may win their first ever trophy.

A team built on a mean defence with the 4th best defense in division 1, has now found ways to score with veteran striker Luis Suarez recording impressive figures of 11 goals since his mid-season arrival. Meanwhile the manager statistically now holds the clubs best points to game ratio of any manager who has managed Espanyol. When we consider all his games have been in division 1, it makes that stat even more impressive given the club has spent many of the 17 seasoms in top 100 in the lower divisions.

“We were set a contractual finish of 14th this season and next, with a 12th place in season 3. I think when we put that into perspective, to finish 6th in division 1 in the first of these 3 seasons shows how far we’ve come in my first full season here. Some pretty big clubs, with big stars have finished lower, whilst we’ve taken 4 points from Chelsea, 4 from Real Madrid, 3 from Porto and also drawn with Juventus. Our close season business is also already agreed which has us looking forward to a quiet break. Monday is a big night for us as we play Arsenal in the cup final, we go into the game in great form, although we are under no illusions how difficult this match will be. We’ve set our own bar very high here, and have needed to work the transfer market hard to try and remain competitive, whilst keeping one eye on the future. Next season promises to be an even tougher season with all teams continuing to strengthen in their quest to shorten the gaps between the bottom teams and top teams. Some excellent sides are coming up from division 2, whilst we have to ensure we are not next seasons Hertha Berlin, who secured a high finish last season only to get relegated this time around. Since joining top100 its been a slog, from the days of struggling with Napoli to coming to Espanyol and trying to build a team which can compete with the elite. As a Manager i’m confident in my own ability, building successful teams is something i’ve been accustomed to over the last 12 years. Top100 has certainly been one of my tougher challenges, but its one I enjoy. I have my own style and dont get hung up on any particular player. I’m not affraid to sell my best players, or top young players, if it keeps us competitive. Balance is everything to me, which is probably why we’ve not suffered with player concerns, i’d rather trade a player who is not a regular than risk them growing unhappy and then lose their potential trade value.”