AS.com

Rayo Vallecano striker Andrija Delibasic has declared that he celebrated his goal on against Real Betis on Sunday in tribute to former team-mate Michu.

The Swansea forward always celebrates his goals by putting his hand to his ear and Delibasic did the same after netting Rayo's second goal in a 3-0 win over Pepe Mel's side.

"The celebration was a special tribute to Michu because I have been speaking to him a lot recently," the Montenegro forward told Rayovallecano.es

"I have had many team-mates over the years, but forgetting about his qualities as a footballer foR a second, because everyone knows who he is now, he is also an incredible person who is always keeping an eye on Rayo. I know that he watched Sunday's game on television, he always supports us during the good times and the bad."

The result over Betis kept Rayo in the Europa League places for the third week in a row, which Delibasic said had made the players proud.

"We played very well from the start. Everything went our way from the first minute and in the end we got the three points. Now we've got 34 points and although we cannot yet say that we are mathematically safe, we are definitely on the right track to survival.

"We are a great group, I've got great team-mates and they always support me and are by my side. You can tell we have a very good squad. There's also an enormous human quality in our dressing room and that's why we are where we are at the moment."

Delibasic also revealed that his goal against Betis, his fourth of the season, had given him some much needed confidence after a season in which he has not started many games.

"After the defeat to Granada (the previous week) the only thing I wanted was to start training again as soon as possible to get my confidence back.

"I have been around for some years now and I know that I have to keep my chin up and think good things. Things can change very quickly, both in football and life. Some days you are down, other days you are up and now I have to be ambitious and believe that I can continue playing and scoring goals."

And Delibasic had a special mention for Rayo's fans, who sung his name loudly during the Betis game.

"I only have words of thanks for the fans. The game against Granada was my chance to show I was worth of a place in the starting line-up but things didn't go well, and it was a difficult week for me after that. But then I looked forward to the game against Betis and that day everything went well."