Real Betis president Angel Haro has insisted that his club can become a force in La Liga over the next few years.

Betis have not finished in the top half of La Liga since the 2012-13 campaign, while they spent the 2014-15 season in the Segunda Division after being relegated from the top flight.

Los Verdiblancos only managed a 15th-place finish last season, meanwhile, but Haro has insisted that his team can follow the blueprint set out by Atletico, in addition to discussing the importance of finishing above their Seville rivals Sevilla this term.

"Betis has to be above Sevilla," Haro told Cadena Cope. "This would represent something significant for the fans and those connected to the club, we have many foundations in place to be the city's premier club.

"The Sevilla president (Jose Castro) will tell you the same in reverse, but if I did not think and believe this I would not be a true Betico. In recent years we have not reached our potential on the pitch and mistakes have been made which haven't been made at our rivals, so we self-analysed and worked to rectify it.

"We don't look at Sevilla but we are aware that in recent years we have not been good enough. I believe we should look towards Atletico Madrid for future success, not just the model of how the club operates but our situation now was their's not so long ago – big fanbase, many season ticket holders, a budget..."

Betis are currently sixth in La Liga after recording a shock 1-0 win away to champions Real Madrid on Wednesday night.