Atletico Director Pitarch Believes In Top Three

Los Colchoners made the best start of all La Liga's front runners in the first round of fixtures last weekend , with a four goal demolition of newly promoted Malaga.

Since then club president Enrique Cerezo and left back Mariano Pernia have spoke bullishly, and coach Javier Aguirre more reservedly, about what could be a great season ahead.

Having clung on to 4th place last season when a resurgent Sevilla nearly sneaked into the the Champions League spots, Atletico face a fight to maintain their position with a variety of teams breathing down their neck. However, the summer saw significant investment in new players which appears to have strengthened the team throughout, and the eye-catching start to proceedings has fueled the confidence already evident in the corridors of the Vicente Calderon.

Pitarch stated that having improved the squad significantly this summer, the club aims to go one better than 2007/08, while taking stock of the summer business and the season ahead with the Spanish media: "After dealings I believe we should require more than last year, I would say that is almost an obligation to be among the first three".

Pitarch believes the club deserves success, and is close to achieving more in the coming season. "We have highly experienced players, a very high competitive level", he added.

When discussing the approach taken to player recruitment in the last few months, highlighting how players like Camacho can come through and play alongside established stars, boosting the options for Aguirre, Pitarch confirmed the club received serious offers for four key players, including Kun Aguero.

The transfer guru proudly confirmed each player was happy to remain at Atletico, and such instances were a mark of the club's progression in the right direction: "It is due to institutional stability, and the good performance of the team".

He shed light on Atletico's transfer policy of avoiding player auctions, and the inevitable paying of exorbitant prices.

"We have not participated in auctions, we have expressed our position according to our possibilities, and then pursued those possibilities directly through negotiation," he said.

It perhaps alludes to a number of players, such as Diego and David Silva, who were linked to Atletico over the summer though nothing ever materialised, as instances where financial stability came first as opposed to 'dismantling the club's balance', as Pitarch states.