Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone insists a title challenge was never in his thoughts this season.

Atletico lost 2-1 on Sunday to Rayo Vallecano.

With their title hopes fading, Simeone has now tasked his players with improving on last season's fifth-placed finish.

"We do not look at how the league will end," he said. "We want to improve on what we did last season.

"The league is very long and it's how it ends. Want to finish as high as possible and improve on where we ended last year."