Now not time to focus on own future, says Barcelona coach Setien after painful defeat

August 14, 2020 Barcelona coach Quique Setien, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS

Barcelona coach Quique Setien preferred to avoid discussing whether or not he would remain at the club after Friday's tortuous 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals but admitted big changes would have to be made.

"Right now it's too soon to say whether I will continue or not. It's not up to me and the club will have to have a deep reflection that corresponds to such a humiliating and painful defeat," Setien told reporters.

"This defeat has hurt me a lot. It's such an overwhelming defeat and I'm not just worried about my future, I'm thinking about what an awful defeat this is for the club and for the fans."

Predecessor Ernesto Valverde was sacked in January partly for his role in Barca's two previous exits from the Champions League and Setien admitted his stock will have fallen after presiding over Barca's heaviest ever defeat in Europe.

"I know what a defeat of this calibre means but we have to analyse what has happened today from a wider perspective," Setien added.

"I know that the credibility of a coach decreases when you have a defeat like this. We were over-powered by a very, very good team. Save for the first few minutes, they completely overwhelmed us."

Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu did not reveal what consequences such a seismic defeat would have on the squad and coaching staff, but he implied that the scale of the result would ensure some were moved on quicker than first thought.

"We were not at the level we want to be today. It was a disaster and soon we will take some decisions," he said.

"We had been thinking about some of them already and we will inform the affected people in the coming days. Some of those decisions had already been made, others will be made in the next few days.

"But right now is a time to reflect, not to make decisions in the heat of the moment. Above all, we want to apologise to all Barcelona fans for this heavy result."