Atletico are flying high in La Liga, lying in fifth spot over the Christmas break and only three points behind second-placed Barcelona.

Javier Aguirre's men are also going nicely in the UEFA Cup and the Copa del Rey, but Garcia insists they need to keep playing at that level if they are to achieve their goals for this season.

"Consistency is fundamental for any team to get far. The Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup are sporadic competitions, where you play two games every now and again. The league is a more regular competition, a long-distance race," he said

"Our principle objective is to be among the first four places (in the league). What we are doing now is picking up as many points as possible so we can go into the last five games as near as we can be to top spot."

Atletico suffered a stuttering start to the campaign with just two points from their opening three league games, but they have improved significantly since then and could have been joint-second over Christmas but for a 2-1 home defeat to Espanyol last weekend.

"I am very happy with the progress of the team because we are fighting at the top of the table," added former Liverpool winger Garcia on his club's website.

"After a slow start, when we had certain doubts about ourselves, I think that we have learned to do things well.

"We were always convinced we could be up there, but until you are you can always have doubts.

"With work we can finish among the top four teams, although things are very close in terms of points. Currently it is very difficult to get into the Champions League places, as there are many good teams.

"The team has a very good base and we have brought in some players of high quality, which means we can aspire to do more.

"The mentality to be among the best is something we must have, there is no need to be afraid of being at the top.

"In this team there are players who have won many titles and they know what it takes to compete with the best."