Pep keeping faith after defeat

Barcelona, Agency
Pep Guardiola insists he retains full faith in his Barcelona players following their shock 2-0 defeat to Hercules.
Barca were well beaten at Camp Nou on Saturday against their little-fancied opponents, but Guardiola said there is no question over the players' hunger and commitment to the cause.

"It is impossible to doubt these players," he said. "We could have the worst season possible, but I would still have my faith in them. The other day, I didn't make their job easy for them.

"After winning six titles in a row, they were able to get 99 points in such a demanding competition as La Liga. Having seen that, it's impossible to have any doubts - they get all the credit. I know them, and it hurts them to lose. They are too honourable, they want to perform, and want to compete and do as well as they know they can.

"Lack of desire was not an issue. They want to carry on winning, that's their desire, and I want people to know that defeat affected them. The other reason is that the opposition played better.

"Teams are incredibly fragile. Just one piece has to be missing and things get fragile. We were lacking the right movement to attack well. We have to find our game again and be ourselves again."