Barcelona coach Luis Enrique says he does not feel under pressure for his job, amid reports that he is to be sacked from the club to keep Lionel Messi happy.
The relationship between coach and superstar is widely thought to have broken down completely following reported rows both before and after Messi was benched in last weekend's 1-0 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad, and the player then missed training the following morning through illness.
Speaking on Wednesday Luis Enrique refused to confirm or deny any problem, while saying pointedly that there were some rules which each player must follow. However persistent press reports claimed Messi, who is not the only player upset and confused with the team's current tactics, had threatened to leave the Camp Nou should a new coach not be installed.
Catalan station TV3's Esport Club programme reported that after Thursday's 5-0 Copa del Rey last-16 first leg win over Elche, Blaugrana president Josep Maria Bartomeu told Messi that Luis Enrique would soon be replaced. While AS maintain the board has asked former Bayern Munich and Real Madrid boss Jupp Heynckes to come out of retirement and take over until the end of the season.
Bartomeu immediately denied that any such meeting had taken place, while Messi's camp assured Sport that the player had neither demanded the exit of Enrique, nor the return of his former coach Frank Rijkaard.
Enrique told his news conference ahead of Sunday's key La Liga game against Atletico Madrid that he felt he retained the confidence of his squad, and was continuing to manage the egos within the dressing-room as he knew best.
"It is not about feeling backed or not," he said. "I focus on my work. What I can say is that the day my players do not follow me, is the day I leave. And that has not happened yet. I stick to my way of doing things, managing a dressing-room is managing egos, and I am doing that, as I did with other teams."
The former Barcelona player said it was not unusual for such storms to blow-up mid-season around the Camp Nou.
"Reaching this point, I will not feed any controversies," he said. "We are used to all this around the club, it is not the first season such things have happened. I am still fully focused on what I can control, training sessions, making my team better in each game.
"The players and coaching staff focus on things which make us stronger, not those that could weaken us. There are so many reports, some with bad intentions, that you cannot confirm or deny every one. I do not play this game, my game is a different one."
Enrique maintained that the turbulence around the club, which has included Bartomeu bowing to pressure and calling presidential elections for the end of the current campaign, had not affected the build-up to Sunday's huge game against Atletico.
"It has been normal," he said. "We had a Copa game a few days ago, and we focus on next La Liga game. Nothing has changed. [Atletico] are very well organised in defence, and dangerous on the counter-attack and set-pieces.
"Their numbers from this season, and last year, show they are without doubt one of the best teams in Europe. I expect a game similar to the six meetings last season, but I hope the result is different, that we can win."