Valencia coach Rino Gattuso apologised to home fans after their Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

Los Che lost their Copa quarterfinal on Thursday night 3-1 at the Mestalla.

Gattuso said, "First of all, I want to apologise to the 45,000 fans who have come to Mestalla for the team playing badly -all of us. We played with fear and when a team plays like this, the only thing left to do is ask for forgiveness and then take full responsibility. When you have a Copa del Rey quarterfinal and you play like this, the first person to take responsibility is me.

"Today we played with fear in everything we did, and it is very difficult when you play like that. We have to analyse well what is happening. After a match like today's, it's hard to talk.

"After the game it was not correct to talk to the team, but we have to talk, listen to what is happening and find out why at this moment we are afraid, because when we prepare things, we prepare them well, but then at the first sign of difficulties we all fail. Tomorrow I definitely have to find out what is happening.

"In the second half we played long balls more, but if you're not used to playing a certain type of game you can't change the mentality of the team in 45 minutes.

"We work on long ball strategy and on other things. The team are lacking in desire when we press and battle for the ball... we are lacking this. Today, after 15/20 minutes, Mestalla was pressuring us because they didn't like us coming out from the back, and we didn't have the ability to play long. We are missing those little things. If at this moment I have to take things in another direction, I don't have that inside, and that's the reality.

"What we are doing is not enough and I have to solve it, but for me it is difficult to change everything we have worked on over these 4/5 months 100%."