Navas swats away Del Bosque doubts

Spain winger Jesus Navas has defended head coach Vicente del Bosque after his FIFA Coach of the Year award was called into question.

The 62-year-old saw off competition from Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho to claim the accolade in January, only for Mourinho to criticise the voting process.

However, the Sevilla man is delighted with the impact Del Bosque has had on the national team.

“Del Bosque has given us all titles and we are very happy,” Navas told reporters.

“We have to think about football and what lies ahead. And nothing more.”

Spain have crunch World Cup qualifiers with both Finland and France on the horizon, and Navas has called for focus against the Nordic nation, and is looking forward to seeing captain Iker Casillas recover from injury.

“There is a very important game against Finland to be won before thinking of France,” Navas said.

“We know that Casillas will be back in the team. The most important thing is for him to recover as he is very important for all of us.

“We have to be focused on these two games though, but we wish him a speedy recovery.”