Coach Xavi says there is confidence in his Barcelona project

Despite the blow of Champions League elimination, Xavi Hernandez feels backed by president Joan Laporta and the rest of the club's hierarchy.

In this sense, his credit as the ideal coach to rebuild Barça via the current sporting project remains intact.

"We won't stop working. I feel the belief in what we are doing. There is complete confidence in the project. The expectations are high and it's not what we hoped, going out of the Champions League. We have to accept the criticism and work hard.," he said.

"I have the confidence of the president, the board, Mateu and Jordi. There is nothing for it but to keep working hard."

On how Barça can improve, he added: "Sometimes we need to be calmer. We have analysed what happened against Bayern. There was an important psychological factor after being knocked out before the game, but we also lacked calm.

"Pedri, Gavi, Busquets, De Jong. Football is more about midfielders than we think and we are aware we sometimes need more 'pausa' with the ball."

Nico's future

Xavi was also asked if Nico Gonzalez, on loan at Saturday's opponents Valencia, could return in January: "Yes, why not? We will speak with him. The January window is coming and we have the World Cup break to work on it. We will decide based on the team's situation bit for now we are focused on the four games we have before the break."

Gattuso's Valencia

The Barça coach also spoke about what to expect from Valencia: "You may expect a defensive team from Gattuso but it's the opposite. They are brave, press high, dynmaic. It could be similar to the Athletic game. I think it will be a good game for the fans. We are in good form in LaLiga. We have to change chip from the Champions League and focus on the league."