Emery: We Are Putting Last Year Year Behind Us

Unai Emery believes that Valencia are putting the problems of last season firmly behind them with each good performance and the win against Deportivo was another step forward.

Los Che endured a tough time under Ronald Koeman in last term and problems behind the scenes also contributed to splits within the squad and among the board.

But now the team and the club appear to be pulling in the same direction and coming from a goal down to win 4-2 against Depor was a sign of that, Emery said.

"The problems from the previous campaign are being overcome and in this sense it is important that we worry only about ourselves," he explained.

"We will reach where we want to be by being prudent and we have to tread carefully by taking things step-by-step.

"We are pleased to be on top but we have to worry about consistency."

Depor took the lead through an own goal from Emiliano Moretti, but Valencia hit back with four goals to claim all three points with some ease.

"At the beginning Depor looked very good, but then I felt we played very well for the hour after the 30-minute mark," Emery added.

"We want to improve and grow as a team and if we can stay up where we are then that would be great."

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Four Valencia Players Miss Training

Valencia coach Unai Emery chose to wrap four of his side in cotton wool after the 4-2 victory over Deportivo La Coruna, with the UEFA cup in mind.

After their hard fought win at the Mestalla, where they had to come from a goal down to see off plucky Depor, some of the Valencia players suffered from slight niggles, and rather than risk further injury, the players missed training with the rest of the squad today.

Fernando Morientes, Alexis, Edu, & Miguel Brito all started the match, and spent the morning in the gym recuperating, missing the more strenuous work out the first team squad were involved in.

While none of their injuries are deemed to be serious, with a UEFA cup return match versus Maritimo on Thursday followed by a trip to Valladolid on Sunday, coach Emery wants to keep his key players fresh. Valencia lead 1-0 from the first leg, and will have to guard against complacency against the Portuguese side in order to progress to the group stages.

More news on the injury front saw Carlos Marchena and Ruben Baraja return to training after missing most of the season so far. While Baraja is not yet 100%, Spanish international Marchena could return to first team duties as soon as this weekend, which is a huge boost for the table-topping side.

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Joaquín: Now We Have A Real Coach

Joaquín believes that there is a stark difference between the mentality and performances on the pitch at Valencia and the atmosphere within the squad between this season and last term.

The Spain international had a torrid time under Ronald Koeman last year and looked set to be leaving the club in the summer, before the Dutchman went before the end of the campaign.

Valencia went back to the top of the league, level on points with Villarreal, after their win over Deportivo and Joaquín explained why he felt it had happened.

"The team is practically the same, but what Unai (Emery) has done has given us a bit of order and we all know what we have to do," he told reporters.

"Now the coach knows what's what and does not go about making things up. Fortunately this season we have a real trainer

"The squad has changed a lot in terms of the feeling here and we are all thinking differently.

"We are forgetting about last year when there were a lot of non-sport and sporting problems and too many things were said."

Marco Caneira and Santi Cañizares were highlighted as two trouble-makers, but Joaquín does not think that any individuals within the squad should be blamed.

"It is not that any of them created real problems, although Caneira had problems with certain players and Cañizares was frozen out of the team," he added.

"But in general there were a lot of problems and nobody should pinpoint them as being the guilty parties."

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