Former Valencia assistant coach Fran Escriba says the board are wrong to have placed such high expectations on the team this season.

Escriba followed Quique Sanchez Flores out of the Mestalla on Monday and admitted: "It was unpleasant walking on the streets, at training, dealing with the press, everything inside and outside the club."

He went on: "If Valencia are to win games - and titles - they need to have their top four players playing every time. That is, David Villa, David Silva, Joaquin and Vicente. We missed three of them the other week against Zaragoza and you saw what happened.

"The club cannot sell the feeling to fans that they can be better than Barcelona or Real Madrid. We're a great team, but always a step behind the biggest teams."