Tata: I can handle Barca pressure

Barcelona Coach Tata Martino has insisted the pressure of working at Camp Nou is not something that bothers him.

Speaking at a Press conference prior to Barca’s Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg against Real Sociedad on Wednesday, Martino dismissed the attention placed on him as a peril of the job.

“From the day I came to Barca I was aware of the pressure,” he said.

“It’s the same every day. And it will be the same for as long as I’m here.”

Martino added that he still expects Barca to win the League title despite losing to Valencia, noting that if he doesn’t believe they will then neither will anyone else.

“If I won’t back Barca then who will?

“Why should I lose faith in Barca because of a bad 45 minutes? Even a full analysis of the Valencia game wouldn’t change anything.

“If I said we can’t win the League it’d be like I was feeling the pressure.”

Martino also agreed that it is important to leave the home leg of the Copa tie with a clean sheet.

“I believe playing at home and not conceding gives us a better chance of going to the final.

“Away goals can be crucial, but even more so after what happened the other day.

“We’ve already played La Real in the League and we did well.          

“Last weekend they practically played without a striker, which is common for them.

“But this game we be decided by what we do.”

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