<
>

Barcelona on course to win La Liga title - club secretary Robert Fernandez

Barcelona technical secretary Robert Fernandez says he is confident that the team will come through their recent slump and win this season's La Liga title.

Barca were well clear of challengers Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid and huge favourites to win the title just a few weeks ago as they went six months and 39 games unbeaten in all competitions.

But Luis Enrique's team have taken just one point from their last four La Liga games and now lead the table on just head-to-head record over Atletico, with Real Madrid one point behind in third spot.

The slump has also included a 3-2 Champions League quarterfinal exit to Atletico, ending their hopes of lifting a second successive Treble.

Speaking to Barca TV, the former Blaugrana midfielder said that the problems had come as a surprise but the team had won so much recently that fans should believe they can turn the situation around.

"You never know where and when problems will come," Robert said. "We want to win the five games which remain. We have an advantage that if La Liga ended today we would be champions. I am not concerned about what the other teams do, I just think about ourselves. If we win them all, we will win La Liga. This team has earned the faith of their fans."

Robert said that the Barca squad were capable of understanding what was going wrong, and putting it right.

"When the game at the Calderon ended I was hearing positive messages," he said. "In the dressing room they are always self critical, and know there are things to improve. Sometimes there is not enough merit given to the opponent. But you can believe in Barca."

Sunday's 2-1 defeat against Valencia, when Barca created many chances but were unable to convert them, had been a better performance than the previous two defeats to Real Sociedad in La Liga and Atletico in Europe, Robert maintained.

"We were not able to win the last games," Robert said. "We were unlucky at Anoeta too. The opponents put a lot of men behind the ball, then one slip and the can score again. Despite losing to Valencia, we left the stadium relaxed. The feelings were different than after Anoeta and the Calderon."

Robert said that La Liga was much more difficult to win than other leagues around Europe, and added that should the team take the title and beat Sevilla in May 20's Copa del Rey final then this must be seen as an excellent season.

"This league is the best in the world, a very high level," he said. "If you compare it to other championships, there are very big differences. To win the double must be giving a lot of merit, it is very difficult to do it. We never said La Liga was already won. There were many things in there -- like the effort in the Champions League."