Sevilla president Jose Castro is not getting carried away by his team's biggest win of the season, a late home victory over Real Madrid that pulled the Andalusian club to within one point of the La Liga leaders.
Montenegrin forward Stevan Jovetic, who joined Sevilla on loan from Inter Milan last week, struck in added time to hand Sevilla a 2-1 win and in the process ended Real Madrid's record-breaking 40-game unbeaten run.
Castro, telling the fans to be "realistic" about the side's title chances, even sounded a pessimistic note about the possible departure of Monchi, the mastermind behind Sevilla's successful run that has seen the club win nine trophies, including five Europa League titles, since he took over the position in 2000.
"We are very satisfied but we have to keep our feet firmly on the ground," Castro told Cadena Ser radio. "La Liga is not for us, it's for Real Madrid and Barcelona.
"We are realistic, we will not renounce to anything but our aim is to qualify for the Champions League."
As for Monchi, who has been a reported target of Roma and other clubs in recent months, Castro said: "You cannot force someone to be where they do not want to be."
Monchi, 48, intended to leave Sevilla at the end of last season for "personal reasons" but the club did not allow him to break his contract which runs until June 2020.
A former Sevilla goalkeeper, Monchi had been linked with top European clubs in the summer.
Hace menos de una semana no se conocían....hoy parece que se hubieran formado en la carretera de Utrera....La magia de Nervion
Te quiero SFC pic.twitter.com/mQez4IsVzz- Monchi (@leonsfdo) January 16, 2017
If Monchi does leave at the end of this season, he will clearly have mixed emotions. After Sunday's win, he expressed his feelings about the club on Twitter that shows Jovetic jumping into the arms of teammate Wissam Ben Yedder after his winning goal.
The tweet said: "Less than a week ago they didn't know each other...today it seems as though they have gone through the youth ranks of Sevilla..... The magic of Nervion [where the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium is located]. I love you SFC [Sevilla Football Club]."
Sevilla play away to Osasuna on Sunday while Real Madrid, who have a game in hand, take on Celta Vigo in their midweek Copa del Rey quarterfinal first leg, before hosting Malaga on Saturday.