Raul Garcia happy with his role at Athletic Bilbao

Raul Garcia says he's happy with his role at Athletic Bilbao this season.

The 36-year-old striker's 19 LaLiga appearances this season have mostly come off the bench, but he continues to be as influential as ever, exemplified by his assist for Oihan Sancet in the 4-1 victory over Cdiz CF last Friday.

"I feel strong and at ease, very happy with everything around me," Ral Garca said at a press conference on Tuesday morning.

"I think I can keep competing at the highest level and I work towards that. Now I have to contribute more from the bench, but my goal is to perform as well as possible to convince the coach that I have to play more."

When asked about the results in LaLiga after the World Cup break, Ral said "the doubts come more from outside than from inside".

He added: "When the points don't come, we work hard to identify the reasons why so we can turn the situation around. We're a confident side and we always try to give our best, even if sometimes it doesn't work out. This is a long-distance race, I think we have the team to fight for our objectives."