FCBARCELONA.CAT

27.08.2008 18:32

"I have a lot of confidence in this squad"

Berta Brau

Puyol was not too disappointed with Barca’s defeat against Wisla Kraków because he was encouraged with the way the team performed. "We showed some good things despite the fact that it is never good to lose, but I think the results was not justified."

The Blaugrana captain spoke to the media after training on Thursday at a press conference and he stated that he had "great confidence" in the squad and that the reverse in the Champions League against the Poles did not change that.

Unity and desire

Looking ahead to the start of the league season, Puyol continued: "We have to work with a real desire and to want to reach our aims so we have be united as a squad. There will be difficult moments and we have to be together in order to ensure that we come through."

For that reason, Puyol does not believe that responsibility for performances can fall onto any individual and hopes that there is no pressure on Lionel Messi to perform. "He is one of the best players in the world, but the work should be a collective thing," he added.

A good pre-season

"Despite the defeat against Wisla, I still think that our performance was too bad at all. Pre-season has been great over all," he continued while looking back over all the past few weeks.

"Our goal tally has been high and maybe the defeat was a reminder to us," Puyol explained. "Wisla are a good team and they know how to play good football. The result was not justified though and did not reflect the way that the game went."

Set pieces

When asked whether he felt the defence had been a weak point, Puyol responded with a firm "no". "Set piece goals are common and we have to always be focussed to stop them. We also had chance to created opportunities from them too."