José Luis Mendilibar on his impact at Sevilla, his coaching philosophy and the Europa League

José Luis Mendilibar has made quite the impact at Sevilla since succeeding Jorge Sampaoli as coach back in March. The 62-year-old has not only managed to steer Los Palanganas clear of the relegation places in Spain's top flight, he also masterminded a remarkable victory over Manchester United in the last eight of the UEFA Europa League.

As the six-time tournament winners prepare to face Juventus in the semi-finals, Mendilibar spoke to UEFA.com about his coaching philosophy, the quarter-final triumph over Erik ten Hag's side and the possibility of yet another European final.

On what he has changed since his arrival

I've always said that I like simple things. I try not to make things too complicated for the players. I try to make the players feel comfortable, and from there, we can start to improve. The results have definitely helped us from the beginning. Even when we haven't played so well, we've had matches where we've been able to get the win. Sometimes, it's the results that make you believe in what you're doing. That was the situation for us, especially at the beginning.

On his philosophy

I always say the same thing: I like players to be happy in training. That's what I try to achieve. I like players to see that the training will be enjoyable – hard but enjoyable. I don't want them to dread it or think they won't enjoy it. When it comes to the game, I require other things. I prefer playing wide to playing narrow and playing in the opposition half rather than our own.

People paint me as a 4-4-2 coach, a coach who likes a direct style of play, who plays a lot in the opposition box, but I want intelligent players. I want players who know how to play in between the opposition when defending, not one on one. I don't like duels. I like to anticipate duels. I don't want them to run just for the sake of running. I prefer players who appear all of a sudden and win the ball without having to make a big effort.

On his ambitions with Sevilla

This club has been used to playing in the Champions League or the Europa League for the last 15 or 20 years. We've gone from thinking about relegation [this season] to thinking about winning the Europa League. What I do, and what I try to cultivate in my players, is to only think about the next game and nothing more than that.

On the quarter-final win over Man United

They're not just any team. It's not only the fact that it was my first experience in European competition, it's also who we faced. The truth is, when we were 2-0 down in the first 20 minutes of the first leg, I was thinking, "What am I doing, standing here in front of 70,000 people? We are losing 2-0." It seemed like they were going to score four goals, and I couldn't say anything because the players couldn't hear me at all due to the noise. The truth is that this makes me calm.

On Juventus and the possibility of another European final

Experiencing a knockout game against Manchester United, and now against Juventus, who are another great team, I imagine it's going to be a very similar experience. [Reaching the final] would be the greatest thing I've ever done in football. I've done great things at other teams, but nothing bigger than this. For this club, a European final would mean continuing what they have been doing in the last few years. They reach the final almost every year, and when they reach it they normally win.