Stephan Andersen is once again thinking about Betis, who are focussing all their attention on Elche's visit to Seville next Sunday. The Danish keeper, despite the painful memory of Denmark's failure to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, has returned to Seville eager to regain a place in the starting eleven in League matches; a competition in which recently Pepe Mel has fielded Guille Sara as goalkeeper. Hurt by various reports that circulated in his home country, Andersen wanted to comment on the news stories that cast doubt on his statements when questioned about his immediate future and his contract with Betis.

In the end, Denmark will not participate in the Brazilian World Cup. Have you got over your disappointment?
All the players are disappointed. We expected to be in Brazil to play the World Cup and do well with Denmark, but it wasn't possible.

Your remarks picked up by the Danish media led to a misunderstanding. What did you say exactly?
I said I was upset because I was not playing in the league, but with respect for the manager's decision. It's understandable, every player wants to play as much as possible. I am not worried about it, the boss said he was very pleased with me, with my work in matches and in training. I just have to keep working hard, trust myself and be patient. I am very happy to be here. Of course I'd like to play in every match, so would my team mate, but we respect the manager's decision.

You must have been very angry at the time.
I expressed my displeasure to the Director of Communication at the Danish national team. They misinterpreted what I said in the interview and used misleading headlines. I know the media of Spain published it, but I made my anger known about the misrepresentation of my comments and the media rectified their reports.

Once you knew you would not be in the World Cup, How is Stephan Andersen's focussing his work now?
The task of a football player is to work hard every day. I want to improve as a goalkeeper at every training session. In my case, I am working to keep my position in the national team, and to get back into the starting eleven and to keep growing as a player here at Betis.

That denotes happiness here in Seville. How is your family adapting?
We are very happy to be in Seville, it's a beautiful city. Betis is a great club. Also, I found a very good school for my children, so we have adapted very well.

Your excellent relationship with Sara Guille is often patent at each training session. You are competing for a place on the team but no one would think that seeing the way you support each other at training.
We have a very professional relationship. We support each other all the time, I support him when he plays and he supports me when it's my turn. That's how it should be. We are fighting for a spot, but we get along.

At the moment you are the starting keeper in the UEFA Europa League, but one of your intentions is to be a starter in the league ...
That's my job, to keep working to the best of my abilities every day. Everyone wants to play all the minutes they can, and that includes goalkeepers. I have to keep striving hard to play more games.

We can affirm that Andersen has no intention of leaving Real Betis ...
Of course. I am very happy here. At no time have I considered leaving Betis, in this winter's transfer window or at any other time. I just want to get back into the starting eleven by working hard in every training session.