Luis Enrique admits it’s hard to pull a team out of a slump but wants Barcelona to keep faith in their style. ‘We need to win through football.’
Barca travel to play Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday, their lead at the top of La Liga having been cut from 10 points, with Atletico Madrid now level and Real Madrid just a point behind, Lucho believes the Catalans can handle the chase.
“We’ve all been mired in this kind of dynamic. The negatives are hard to change. The last game is a reference, we have to continue on the same line,” Marca reports Enrique saying, referencing the 2-1 defeat at Valencia.
“I’d like it if [the game against Depor] resembles the game against Valencia. We need to win through football. The players are used to playing with the utmost pressure. But we’re in a situation where our rival penalises us doing very little.
“We depend on ourselves but it’s clear we’re in the greatest difficulty. We have to resolve them. Winning is always difficult away from home, more so in our situation.”
It’s been suggested that Enrique needed to rotate the XI more often to keep some freshness in the players, or to use a different approach, but he insisted Barca are flexible.
“Throughout the game there are times we go 3-4-2 or 3-52. The idea is the same. For this game we’ll try to find solutions against a team that defends very well,” he considered.
“Rotations? I’ve got nothing to say on that issue.”
Enrique also declined to apologise for a verbal slap down of a reporter after Valencia, and touched on the mental aspect to the title chase.
“We’re in a dynamic, in a sporting sense, that’s negative. If we need psychological help, we have the best sports psychologist,” he noted.
“I don’t have anything to apologise for. I didn’t disrespect anyone. Instead, a lot of the Press have found fault with me and my players. If you don’t like my style, I couldn’t care less, to put it politely.”
