Levante vs Osasuna preview - Caparros rejects Sevilla link

Posted Saturday, March 01, 2014 by PA

Levante coach Joaquin Caparros has dismissed speculation he is set to retake the reins at his former club Sevilla next season.

Caparros, whose side take on Osasuna on Saturday, was in charge at the Sanchez Pizjuan between 2000 and 2005 before being succeeded by Juande Ramos.

He has guided Levante to 33 points from 25 games in his debut season at the club and has been linked with a return to Sevilla, with reports that the Andalusian club's hierarchy expect more from current boss Unai Emery.

But Caparros has ruled out the possibility of him replacing Emery, telling reporters: "There is absolutely nothing in the stories that have come out about Sevilla, or any other clubs.

"It's great when people talk about you, everyone likes that and every year I am linked with different teams but you shouldn't always believe everything you read.

"Everyone knows that I love Sevilla but right now I'm 100 per cent and exclusively focused on Levante, all my senses are focused on doing my job here."

Caparros only signed a one-year deal with Levante when he took over from Juan Ignacio Martinez last summer, but the coach stated he and president Francisco Catalan would begin negotiating a new contract once the team had secured survival.

A win over Osasuna on Saturday would go some way to meeting that aim, but Caparros warned that the Navarrans head to Levante "in their best form of the season" after beating Atletico Madrid 3-0 last Sunday.

And the coach insisted Levante's impressive results this term would count for little if they cannot finish the job.

"What we've done up until now is forgotten, it is worth nothing at all," he said.

"Until we achieve safety mathematically, we cannot say anything, the most important game for us is tomorrow's."

Osasuna's emphatic win over Diego Simeone's title hopefuls saw them rise to 12th in the Primera Division, but coach Javi Gracia will not accept his team continuing to bask in the glory of their performance when they play Levante.

"I don't remember the game against Atletico and I don't want my players to remember it either," he told a press conference.

"It's in the past now and we have to keep performing from game to game. We have to play every game with the highest intensity and remember how important each point is."

Gracia has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the game, while Caparros has his entire squad available.