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Spain: Primera Liga leaders Getafe stay focused on survival [Tue Sep 20th, 2005]
Madrid (Reuters) - Getafe are top of the Primera Liga for the first time in their history, looking down on Madrid rivals Real and Atletico after three games, but coach Bernd Schuster says top flight survival remains their objective.
"Having seven points is the most important thing for us. Being the leaders means very little at this stage. We will look at the table and see where we are in two months' time," said Schuster after a 4-3 win at Alaves.
Getafe survived their first season in the Primera Liga last year under Quique Sanchez Flores, winning plaudits for their organisation and dogged resistance.
After Sanchez Flores moved on to Valencia in May, Schuster was the man appointed to consolidate Getafe's position in the table. The former Germany midfielder's approach could not be more different.
He has transformed the club from a defensive, conservative side into a free-flowing offensive unit who have racked up seven goals in three games, six of them away from home.
Club president Angel Torres refused to get carried away, however, perhaps remembering that Schuster's Levante started in a similarly positive fashion last year.
A poor run saw Schuster sacked by Levante at the beginning of May and they were relegated later that month.
"It isn't normal to have a modest club like ours at the top of the table, but it doesn't fool us," said Torres. "We need to keep our feet on the ground and to keep working with the same humility as always. Our objective remains survival at this level."
Getafe's leading scorer Riki, who netted twice to take his tally to three, said: "It's nice to make the fans happy, but more importantly we now know that we only need another 35 points to secure our position in this league."
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