FCBARCELONA.CAT

23.04.2007 16:25

Iniesta: “We have to be more united than ever”

Andrés Iniesta has called for unity ahead of the vital league matches still to play. The Spanish international midfielder remains optimistic despite yesterday’s defeat against Villarreal.

Speaking at a Camp Nou press conference on Monday, Iniesta admitted that Barça had missed a great opportunity to increase their lead over their closest followers and stamp their authority on the title race: “It’s true that we missed a great chance to increase the lead. It’s not the first time it’s happened this season and we have to try and correct that in the games that are left”.

During today’s training session, Frank Rijkaard spoke to the players for about ten minutes with yesterday’s match the main topic. Iniesta told reporters: “It wasn’t a dressing down. We discussed various aspects of the match and what we felt about it. We played fairly well in the first half but we didn’t take our chances. That cost us dearly in the second half and after Villarreal’s first goal everything was much harder though the team didn’t stop trying to come back from behind”.

Unity in difficult times

Iniesta called for unity ahead of the remaining league matches: “The best thing in this situation is that we are leading and we just depend on ourselves to be champions. But we have to be more united than ever to face up to this phase of the league. I think people still have confidence in us – we’ve done enough to deserve that so far. We have to correct our mistakes, be positive and look forward”.

Leaders on merit

Iniesta also rejected any suggestion that Barça did not deserve to win the title for a third season running and insisted that Barça had been the most consistent team in the league: “We’re first because we deserve to be. That’s what counts. It’s true that no team is really consistent but at the end of the day Barça is leading and let’s hope that continues right to the end. The league is always won by the team that most deserves it. I hope we don’t let it get away”.