Villarreal midfielder Robert Pires insists there's no need to panic after a sluggish start to the second-half of the season.

Defeat to Deportivo La Coruna saw Villarreal drop three points out of the top four, but Pires said: "Except for Barcelona and Real Madrid, it seems that they are better, others like Valencia, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and us, are all very equal. We're capable of winning and dropping points against eachother.

"So I think that until the end we will have to fight hard to reach the Champions League positions."