Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino has agreed a contract extension that ties him to the La Liga club until June 2014.

The 38-year-old former Argentina and Espanyol player took charge of the Barcelona-based club in January 2009 with the team struggling in 18th place in the table, five points adrift of safety.

That season he helped Espanyol avoid the drop and finish in tenth spot, while last term he led them to an 11th-placed finish.

This campaign, Espanyol started superbly but they go into tomorrow night's clash with Athletic Bilbao having slipped down to eighth place, six points off the European spots, after losing nine of their last 12 matches.