Under-fire Koeman breaks silence on his Barcelona future

The Dutchman has had a challenging first season, and he’s now opened up on his future ahead of a crucial double-header with Sevilla.

Ronald Koeman has conceded his future as Barcelona manager is uncertain, but he remains in an ‘optimistic’ mood ahead of a run of season-defining fixtures.

The Blaugrana icon took on his dream job last summer upon replacing the ousted Quique Setien. He has endured a challenging start, however, with eight costly defeats in 37 games (W24 D5) overshadowing his progress.

These included heavy defeats at Camp Nou to Real Madrid, Juventus, and most recently Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona’s hopes of LaLiga glory, meanwhile, hang in the balance. They have a five-point gap to make up against table-toppers Atletico Madrid, who have a game in hand, in third-place. And with a 4-1 aggregate deficit to PSG in the Champions League last-16, European glory appears unlikely.

“I know that there is always a lot of pressure being a Barca coach. If you don’t win, it’s the manager’s fault,” said Koeman as quoted by Goal.

“I don’t know what could happen in the future, there is time to talk about that, but I’m optimistic.”

Increasing the pressure on Koeman is the upcoming club presidential elections, with Xavi Hernandez regarded as the popular choice to take the reins as manager.

The former Netherlands boss will, therefore, be keen to beat Sevilla on Saturday in LaLiga and four days later in a Copa del Rey semi-final tie, with the Andalusian outfit holding a crucial 2-0 aggregate advantage.