FCBARCELONA.CAT

03.01.2010 15:31

Pinto: “Worried – it’s not on my mind”

Neus Pérez

Barca keeper Jose Manuel Pinto spoke to the press after training on Sunday and made it quite clear that the squad were not treating the draw against Villarreal as a tragedy.

Villarreal again came to the Nou Camp and got a result on Saturday and opened the way for Madrid to go top if they win in Pamplona, but Pinto stressed what the squad’s attitude was: “we shouldn’t be concerned about what Madrid do or don’t do, just about what we do ourselves. We need to look again and what we are doing, analyse it and move forward and improve”.

Draw demands reflection

As to that Villarreal game, Pinto explained: “every time you fail to take the three points, you are thinking about what might have happened. I think we went into the game with the right tactics, but Villarreal did too and they made it very difficult for us. They are on a good run and one of the best footballing teams. We didn’t play badly, but there are things we have to improve”.

Tough Cup game

It’s time for the cup again this week and Pinto knows that Tuesday’s game against Seville will be a tough one: “Seville are a dangerous team, regardless of their current form. It won’t be an easy tie and we are both in with a chance. We’ll do everything we can to get through to the next round”. Both teams have been depleted by international call ups for the African Nations Cup, but Pinto reckons that the absences will affect both teams the same: “Touré and Keita are fundamental to us and I guess that the players Seville have lost are to them too. In that sense I think the effect is the same for both of us”.

Full of hope

The fans are used to seeing Pinto in the Cup games, but he insisted that he doesn’t see his role as simply as stand in for the cup: “we are playing so many games, but I’m always excited about the next one. I train as hard as I can and I’m always ready for whatever opportunity and I’m determined to make the most of my chances. It’s important never to lose hope”.