Barcelona results ´irrelevant´ to Luis Enrique´s future

Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique insists Tuesday’s 4-0 Champions League thrashing at Paris Saint-Germain will have no bearing on his future at Camp Nou.

The five-time European champions must complete a comeback unprecedented in the competition’s history if they are to retain their interest this time around after an Angel Di Maria-inspired PSG ran amok at Parc des Princes.

Luis Enrique came under inevitable scrutiny after the match, with accusations Barcelona have lost their playing identity under his stewardship particularly prominent.

The 46-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and, speaking at a news conference ahead of Sunday’s LaLiga match against Leganes, he told reporters events on the field – good or bad – would not influence a decision he is yet to make.

“The only thing I am sure about is the next few months have nothing to do with my decision,” he said.

“Not one game, not 10 games, not the 38 games of the season. Irrelevant.”

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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 18, 2017

Luis Enrique urged his players to focus on the chance to bounce back against relegation-threatened Leganes, but conceded he has struggled to get a chastening evening in the French capital out of his head.

“It is something that is going to be in my head every night and every moment,” he said. “But we cannot worry about that, we have a month until then [the return leg].

“It was not a result we wanted. It was a big slap in the face for everybody.

“You’re never gifted wins. Wins do not come like presents out of the sky. The other team played well and we have to accept that.

“It’s not something we didn’t deserve. It was a fair result. We have to improve our performances.

“I agree that in the last two or three months teams have been willing to come at us more and we have to deal better with that.

“I think we are going to improve our performances. Not long ago people said it would be crazy for teams to play attacking football against us. Now we need to change things.”

Barca are a point behind Real Madrid at LaLiga’s summit having played two games more and Luis Enrique ended his briefing by revealing defeat had followed him around this week as he looked to escape his Paris ordeal.

“I’ve played a lot of Ludo with my wife and she beat me,” he added.