Athletic Bilbao vs Deportivo La Coruna preview - Valeron not panicking

Deportivo La Coruna veteran Juan Carlos Valeron is refusing to press the panic button despite his side's miserable recent run of form.

Promoted Depor enjoyed a promising start to life on their return to the Primera Division, picking up a win and three draws from their opening four matches, but since then they have earned just four points from a possible 24 and shipped 22 goals in those eight games.

That has left the Galician outfit in the relegation zone on 10 points, one more than the bottom two, but Valeron has pointed out there is plenty of time to turn things round.

"We're in a bad situation, but I don't think it's so bad. If you look at the other teams around us and the table I don't think it's so bad. We've got time to react," said the 37-year-old.

Depor travel across the north coast of Spain to face another struggling side in the form of Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.

The Basque giants are four points better off than Depor but were thrashed 5-1 by Real Madrid last weekend - their sixth defeat of the season.

Valeron added in AS: "It's a very important game for us, we know how difficult it is to play there, but at a mental level we are ready to face that challenge. It's very important your head is right, that the nerves don't affect how you play."

Athletic's disappointing league form has been mirrored in Europe, and they bid farewell to the Europa League this week without even playing.

Their match with Hapoel Kiryat Shmona was postponed due to security concerns in Israel, and both clubs ended up being knocked out of the competition after Sparta Prague drew with Lyon in the other Group I match.

Athletic, who finished runners-up in last season's Europa League, earned just one point from their opening four matches.