Barcelona’s sporting director Deco has given a vote of confidence to Xavi.

The Brazilian made a rare media appearance to talk up the Barca manager after an El Clasico defeat against Real Madrid was followed by a loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

The defeats have provoked a number of opinion pieces in the Spanish media over whether the job was too early for Xavi, despite him winning LaLiga last season.

Deco has now come to his defence, saying: “There are no doubts with Xavi.

“You can’t doubt a coach who has come to a team at a difficult time and won the league.”

He added: “We lost a lot of important players in a very short time. We don’t have such a big squad.

“It’s no excuse, it’s a merit to achieve what we did… To play well you have to be physically fit and well prepared.”