The Argentine coach urged his players to lift
themselves up for a final push in La Liga and is baffled at his team's
problems in front of goal over the last seven days
Barcelona coach
Gerardo Martino says his future at Camp Nuo will not be affected by Wednesday's Copa del Rey final defeat to
Real Madrid.
Barca's
woeful week had already seen them knocked out of the Champions League
by Atletico last Wednesday and then all but concede La Liga with a 1-0
loss at Granada on Saturday.
Wednesday's
Clasico clash
against Madrid at Mestalla therefore represented an opportunity to save
something for Martino and Barca in a flagging campaign, but Tata's team
were edged out by a late Gareth Bale winner in Valencia and the
Argentine coach was left to apologise to the fans who had made the
journey to support his side.
"I feel a deep pain for this
defeat," he said. "I would like to thank our fans for coming all this
way to support us and I apologise to them for not being able to win the
match.
Despite a week which has left his team reeling, Martino says Barca will give one final push in La Liga.
"The panorama isn't favourable, but we have to give everything until the end of the season," he said.
Neymar
hit the post for Barca late on against Madrid, while Lionel Messi was
again unable to hit the target and Marc Bartra's second-half strike was
the side's only goal in three games.
"This team is known for scoring lots of goals, but suddenly the goals have dried up," Martino admitted.
"We
have had problems in the last 25 metres and that's unusual for this
club because normally one of these players produces some brilliance and
scores. But we haven't been able to do that this week."
And asked
about his own future at the Catalan club, he added: "It has been a
tough week, for sure, and we have to find the strength to pick ourselves
up.
"Now we're not in good shape, but this team has a big
future. I don't think my own future depends on this game or on the last
week."
Title : sports - Martino: Copa del Rey defeat won't affect my future at Barcelona
Description : The Argentine coach urged his players to lift themselves up for a final push in La Liga and is baffled at his team's problems in ...