Luis Enrique says if he loses his players' support, he'll walk away from Catalan club

Luis Enrique says if he loses his players' support, he'll walk away from Catalan club

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique says if he lost support of his players, he would walk away from the job.

Enrique was speaking to the press ahead of Sunday's match with Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou, which comes on the back of a difficult week for the Catalan club. 

"I feel strong, full of enthusiasm to try and offer the best version of myself," he said.

"Every day I feel stronger. What I can can guarantee is that the day my players stop following me, I leave. But I feel the same as the first day -- the circumstances are the same."

The controversy of the last few days has focused on the breakdown of Luis Enrique and Lionel Messi's relationship, and that played a major part in the press conference. 

Barça's boss didn't want "to feed" the rumour mill, although he did have a couple of things to say about recent events.

First of all, he wanted to defend members of his staff after information which appeared throughout the week. "It's poor form that they would criticise my coaches and my staff," he opined. "I am the reponsible one.

"There is a lot of information, some of it with lined with bad intentions, but I don't want to get involed in that dangerous game.

"For that reason, I won't confirm or deny anything. I don't want to fuel controversy. The fans are not stupid, they're tired of the bickering.

"There is no division. Everyone is behind Messi and Barça."

Asked if the tension could affect the dressing room, the Azulgrana manager assuured reporters that the team is accustomed to dealing with off-field situations.

"There will be pressure all season," he added. "It will only drop if we win la Liga. But the players and the coaching staff keep out of all of this. We're used to it.

"Nothing gets in the way of the my direction. Everything I am seeing behind closed doors is something that motivates me."