Barcelona head coach Xavi has slammed the "negativity around the team" at the moment, claiming that the confidence of the players has been impacted by the recent criticism.
Ahead of the La Liga clash with Alaves on Sunday, the Catalan outfit had lost twice in three matches, being beaten by Real Madrid in El Clasico and Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
Barcelona fell behind against Alaves, with Samu Omorodion making the breakthrough, but a second-half double from Robert Lewandowski saw the La Liga champions secure an unconvincing three points.
Xavi, during his pre-match press conference, hit out at sections of the media, claiming that the recent criticism is affecting the players at the club.
"Yes, it's true. We're in a bad moment. But even like that, we managed to win a match, and that has a lot of merit," he told reporters on Sunday night.
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"The negativity around the team and the criticism is affecting my players. Above all, the youngsters. The veterans like Lewandowski and Inigo [Martinez] aren't really affected by it.
"I never look at the negative part of things. I only try to look for solutions to our problems. Solutions so that our players can enjoy themselves on the pitch. I can tell that they're not enjoying now.
"We have to demand more from the footballers so that they give their best version. They have been able to get the courage necessary to win when things were not going well and that is also very important.
"I have zero doubts that the criticism from the press is affecting the team. It happened to me as a player and I can see it now. There's a massive wave of negativity around the team that is harming us.
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"I told the players that they had to calm down because they were all very tense. This is because of everything that is surrounding the club right now. This match had to be won with positioning and order. We needed to not rush, and associate with our teammates in time. We did that for around half an hour.
"When I talk about Barca's entourage, I don't mean the fans, I mean the press. The criticism from them affects the footballers, and they don't play well. The criticism does not affect me, it affects the players. I can see it in their faces.
"The international break will be good for us to reconnect, think things through, and improve. I'm clear that we will improve. The team showed that we can play very well today."
Barcelona will return to action with a La Liga clash against Rayo Vallecano on November 25 before hosting Portuguese giants Porto in the Champions League three days later.
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