Barcelona boss Quique Setien said he has “hope” of guiding Barcelona into next month’s Champions League, but “doesn’t know” whether he will continue to be in charge by then.
The criticism of Barça captain Lionel Messi to his team, calling them “inconsistent” and “weak” while declaring the need to “change a lot” after Thursday’s 2-1 home loss to Osasuna, a result that allowed Real Madrid to win their 34th league crown. with a game to spare, he seemed to be targeting Setien.
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The Catalan giants could still avoid a first season without trophies from 2007-08 with success in the Champions League when the competition resumes next month.
When asked if he thinks he will coach Barça in the Champions League round of 16 second leg against Napoli on August 8, Setien told reporters: “I hope so but I don’t know. I agree with him. [Messi] regarding some things. “We have to be self-critical. I feel capable [of turning things around] but self-criticism must be carried out by everyone.
“We will have time to rest and the team will arrive fresh to face the competition with optimism. I am sure we will be a different team. We will face this competition [Champions League] with the maximum guarantees “.
Setien, 61, is tied to Barça until June 2022, with an exit clause in 2021 if the club doesn’t want him to continue. He accepted responsibility for Thursday’s surprise loss.
“I am the coach and responsible [for the defeat]”, said.” But we took 10 corner kicks and if we’d scored one of them, we wouldn’t have lost the game.
“We have to be demanding and there are things to improve. Many things will be difficult, including the Champions League, but we have improved in many other things.”
Real Madrid won 10 consecutive league games, including Thursday’s 2-1 victory over Villarreal, on the way to clinching the title, while Barça lost nine points after La Liga restarted in mid-June after the coronavirus pandemic.
“You can’t burn everything, we’ve done some good things,” Setien said. “It just wasn’t like that and this is part of the sport.”
Setien’s appointment in January after Ernesto Valverde’s dismissal had already surprised fans considering the Spaniard’s greatest achievement was guiding Betis to sixth place in the 2017-18 campaign.
Barcelona president José María Bartomeu gave Setien a vote of confidence earlier this week and said he hoped the coach “will continue to be in charge next season.”
With Setien’s relationship with his players increasingly strained and the coach losing credibility with the board and fans, all of that could change. Barça finish the League in Alavés on Sunday.
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