Quique Setién, FC Barcelona’s head coach, who is under a lot of pressure due to his team’s inconsistency during the season, talks about Messi’s words, Champions League, Arthur’s exclusion from the squad list and other things.
Match against Alavés: “It’s important that we end the season on good note, we need to prepare ourselves for the future and think about our match in Champions League. We (Sarabia and I) have talked with the squad and everyone is fired up to go ahead”, he said to FC Barcelona’s media.
About his meeting with Bartomeu: “It’s normal that there are meeting of this type. We all have concern about improving and it’s evident. We are trying to find solutions. The meeting was for preparations for the future, we are aware that we have a very attractive challenge ahead.”
On Messi’s words: “There are things where we agree on and others we don’t, but it is normal. He is absolutely right that if we play as badly as some games it will not give us anything, but we have had good times. We are all aware that we have to improve, be more consistent and more reliable. If we can play like we did against Villarreal, where almost everything went well, it can give us hopes for the Champions League. If we give our best level, we can win it “.
On the decision of not letting Riqui, Ansu and Araujo go and help B team and if they could help the B team if they pass the playoff round: “This is a decision that we have to think about and take as a whole. In today’s call we have 16 players, with three goalkeepers, there are no more players available. They could play with the B team, but we must consider that the consequences of an injury of these players could weaken our hopes for the Champions League “.
If he feels targeted by Messi’s words: “No, not at all. We all say things that are misinterpreted, it happens daily. I do not give it more importance. We all need a break to clean our minds. We will try to think in this sense”.
Bad performances by the team: “Villarreal’s game was the best we have done and, in the rest, we have had phases that have been very good. We are happy with many things, but we are aware that we have to improve a lot of things. Not everything has been a disaster. We deserved to win more games than we have won. I am clear that there are many things that we can improve in the future. “
On Messi’s words and lack of intensity in the games: “We all know that willingness is the engine of our body. I think that intensity has a lot to do with willingness and now it is not the best
Arthur being excluded from the squad: “This morning he came and said that his ankle was bothering him.”
If he has thought about resigning: “The day I arrived, I said that I would enjoy my time here until the last day. I continue to enjoy despite the circumstances and I never thought this would be easy. Defeat is always an option to overcome. I am not living anything that I have not lived before. At no time have I had the feeling of wanting to leave. “
On the management of egos in the locker room: “There are situations that have been new and obviously this locker room, this team, has been winning everything for 15 years in a row and its management is different. There have been some difficult situations to solve, but I see it as normal in a locker room like this. “
On his first six months as a Barcelona manager: “Whenever I get to a place, I think that I will stay there for lifetime, preparing myself for the future. I am still happy and I am tremendously satisfied to have this opportunity.”
