José Luis Mendilibar & coaching staff sign one-year extension at SD Eibar

The eagerly anticipated announcement was made this morning in a press conference, with the club's president, Amaia Gorostiza, declaring, "This is likely the best signing we could have made. There have been rumours going around about the other possible admirers that Mendilibar may have and whether the club was dwelling on things too much, but we have kept on working as we needed to. We're aware that José Luis is the best coach for Eibar at this moment in time and I would venture to say that Eibar is also the best possible club for him. That's why reaching an agreement that both parties were fully satisfied with turned out to be anything but difficult".

Gorostiza went on to note the vital role that Mendilibar has played in the team securing its top-flight status, "Mendilibar has been one of the key figures in taking us to where we are today. José Luis is a born leader, the sort you need within any community, he symbolises our principles and he's able to manage the squad as if it were a family".  

The president closed her address by referring to the team's on-field achievements, insisting that it's time to keep dreaming, "We have comfortably achieved our target and now we'll continue to look upwards and see whether we can accomplish a more ambitious objective".

 SD Eibar's vice-president, José María Arrizabalaga and members of the sporting board confirmed that the coach had signed a one-year extension to his deal. "We see this as being the right way to go about our work, as we look to achieve our targets step by step.  There are also renewed deals for the members of Mendilibar's coaching staff: Iñaki Bea, Josu Anucita, Toni Ruis and Andoni Azkargorta. "We're delighted with this news and we wish them great success because that will mean that we too have been successful".

 The club's director of football, Fran Garagarza, revelead how the negotiations between both parties had gone, "They were straightforward, mainly because of the fact that José Luis and his agent made things very easy and quick for us and because both sides showed a positive approach and we got the deal done what was a relatively short time for Eibar. This means that we're now able to able to work on our immediate future".

Finally, the central figure in the morning's proceedings, José Luis Mendilibar  expressed how comfortable he had been throughout the negotiations, "Things moved quickly and it all went well, both the club, myself and my coaching staff wanted us to remain here for a further year because we feel very much at home, we're comfortable and everyone, the fans and the staff, treat us well and if things are going well it's not easy to make them even better.  I hope that we finish the campaign strongly and that next season pans out similarly to this one and that we continue to enjoy seeing the sight of each other".