FCBARCELONA.CAT

13.02.2009 14:54

Guardiola: “There can be no excuses”

Edgar Fornós

Pep Guardiola may not have had much time to prepare his FC Barcelona team for the trip to Real Betis Balompié, but the coach does not want "to hear any excuses because if we lose it will be because we have not done well enough".

The Blaugrana trainer believes that the game in the Ruiz de Lopera is vital. "It is a key game in our approach towars our main aim," he continued. "Winning at a place like Betis will give us a lot of confidence for the games coming up. We can take an important step and we do not want to waste this opportunity."

Staying focussed

Despite the great form that Barça have been in, Guardiola was very clear that going to play Betis away is never an easy game. "In the last nine visits there, Barça have lost five times," he said. "We are talking about one of the biggest teams in the league historically. They will have a lot of confidence after beating Sevilla and they have some very good players like Sergio Garcia, Ricardo Oliveira and Emana. It will be very difficult because they are a well-organised team that can cause problems on the counter-attack."

Looking to win

After being asked questions about how his side would cope if they were to lose, Guardiola responded by saying: "We will try to extend our runs of wins and when a defeat comes we will reflect on it and then immediately lift ourselves back and recover our desire. If we lose, the reason we have done will concern me, but I will not suffer psychologically since we are strong enough to take it in our stride."

International break

Having not been able to work with many first team players this week due to international commitments has been difficult but Guardiola beleives that "at times the fact that players have to go to their national team helps them disconnect from the daily routine and they return with more desire. That is a good thing".