Friday 1 January 2016 10:32, UK
Gary Neville admits Valencia will find it tough to qualify for next season's Champions League following their 1-0 reverse at Villarreal on Thursday.
Two draws and a defeat have left Valencia 10th in La Liga after 17 matches, 11 points adrift of Villarreal in the fourth Champions League spot.
Valencia also face a test against third-placed Real Madrid on Sunday, and Neville admits he is taking the experience game by game.
"It is a large distance to make up and I am concentrating on the next game," Neville said after the Villarreal defeat. "The defeat makes it a lot more difficult but there are still points to be played for.
"I am desperately looking to pick up points but I am also looking for a good performance. There were good signs against Lyon and Eibar but today we saw something different as we had a good 45 minutes.
"This makes me feel better as we knew how to play in the second half and if we continue that way then it is possible to pick up the points we need. In the second half we played the best football since I arrived."
Valencia began on the back foot against Villarreal with a five-man defence and, although they came out of their shells after the break, conceded from a Bruno Soriano free kick in the 64th minute.
"We needed to pass the ball better. We were bunched together too much and we should have looked to attack more," said Neville.
"When you have five at the back you can be too defensive and we were conscious of that but we didn't do it well."
