Sevilla's coach reckons the La Liga title race has narrowed to a handful of clubs, draining the intensity out of the competition, with huge gaps in points and results between the leaders and the rest.
García Plaza told newspaper "Marca": "I see how the top three sides (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético) are maintaining their level. I made some projections a few days ago, and it seems they will approach 90 points at this rate. There is a vast gap, as they are running a league in which two teams (Real Madrid and Barcelona) enjoy absolute superiority. Atlético Madrid are a little behind, but they are far superior to the side in fourth place."
The Sevilla boss went on: "They are followed by Real Betis, Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, while the rest of the teams are of a lower level. They are making La Liga boring," a nod to the chasm he sees between the big-money clubs and everyone else.
For all his criticism of the competition's shape, García Plaza insisted Sevilla must keep grafting to finish high up the table. He expects the coming weeks to bring a fierce scrap between sides of similar quality, with a chance for his own to push for more if they hold their form.
"There the competition will be fierce," he said. "We hope to take part in the European competitions, as that is the fruit of good performance. It is very difficult to compete in three competitions because you need a wide squad, and you don't train much, but that would mean we had delivered a great season."
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Turning to the expectations that greeted the team before the season, García Plaza admitted the club had struggled to build its squad over the summer. They still delivered positive results, and that gives him confidence they can keep climbing.
"The team was suffering from a severe shortage of players, but we achieved great results, and so far we are on the right path and remain humble," he explained. "We are one of the biggest clubs in Spain, without dispute, but the team has not reached the required level yet, and we must do our utmost to achieve that."
García Plaza wants more stability than last season, when he scrapped through a relegation battle before securing survival in the top flight by a margin of more than 40 points. He believes the fight for table positions can still shift as the fixtures roll on.
On that note, he singled out Málaga, rock bottom on 5 points, as the one side drifting clear of the pack right now. He cautioned against writing them off, though, insisting their coach and players can turn things around. He closed by underlining how tight the rest of the clubs are: "Winning a single match is enough to advance considerably in the standings."

