Barcelona boss Luis Enrique accused his critics of having a short memory ahead of Sunday’s clash with Villarreal in La Liga.
Barca will fall nine points behind Real Madrid if Los Blancos win their game in hand and the Catalans lose to Villarreal, in turn piling the pressure on Enrique, whose contract remains due to expire this summer.
“Villarreal will want to have the ball, like us, so we have to be very precise when applying pressure,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
“It’ll be a very difficult game but one we’re obliged to win.
“Would I understand if Pique was punished for his statements? I can’t comment on something that hasn’t happened yet.
“I’m sure Neymar will go back to scoring goals. There are more positives than negatives in his performances. He’s having a good season.
“We face the matches with maximum fortitude. There’s a margin for error, there won’t be a team that wins every League game. There’s a lot of cloth still to be cut.
“Aduriz’s moment of aggression? I’m in favour of helping the referees so they can improve and protect the players, but I prefer not to assess particular cases.
“It’s normal for the players to be upset about San Mames. In the second half, they gave a lesson in behaviour.
“Apart from the result, I liked what I saw in Bilbao. We were good in both attack and defence, I think we deserved to get a better result.
“My team’s struggles? A better question would be how many trophies has Luis Enrique’s Barca won over these two years and you’ll get the number for this year [none, sarcastically].
“Should the club put a deadline on my renewal? You’re right, I won’t talk about my renewal.”
