Barcelona boss Setien: “It has never crossed my mind that this is my last game”

Barcelona boss Quique Setien insists it has “never crossed my mind” that Saturday’s Champions League match against Napoli could be his final game in charge of the club.

The latest Barcelona news has centred on the Coach’s future just six months after his appointment, with his side surrendering their La Liga title to El Clasico rivals Real Madrid.

The Catalan club will take on the Serie A outfit in the second leg of their  Round of 16 tie – which is currently poised at 1-1 – in the Champions League at the Camp Nou on Saturday, and still have an outside chance of European glory in a campaign which did not bring any domestic trophies.

Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in January but despite inheriting a side who were top of the league, he oversaw their run-in to finish five points behind Madrid whilst also being eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the Copa del Rey.

“The reality is that it has never crossed my mind that this is my last game,” he told reporters, as highlighted by Marca. “We have prepared the game thoroughly. We are going to face everything to Portugal with the same energy.”

What has Barça improved since February? “We have improved many things. We have lacked continuity in doing those things that we do well. This is a process that is always there. You do not always face the same rivals, everything varies. We can see in some circumstances that sometimes things are not done well.”

Has Setien brought a new identity? “The identity has not been lost. We have all heard about the Barça DNA and the club’s philosophy, another thing is the nuances of each coach.

“Since we arrived we have tried to recover certain things that we understand that Barça represents. We have achieved many things. We are happy about some aspects of the game, other aspects are damaging us. We keep trying to improve every day.”

Tags Napoli Quique Setien
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