‘If my situation changes, I hope I am told’ – Koeman focused on the pitch amid Barcelona boardroom turmoil

The head coach at Camp Nou is unconcerned about his job after Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned as club president

Ronald Koeman hopes he is told if his situation at Barcelona changes following president Josep Maria Bartomeu’s resignation.

A day after Bartomeu resigned, Barca showed few affects as they claimed a 2-0 win over Juventus in the Champions League.

After a trophy-less 2019-20 season, Koeman was appointed as Barca coach in August, and the La Liga giants faced further turmoil as Lionel Messi requested to leave, only for the star to remain.

Asked if he was worried about his position following Bartomeu’s resignation, Koeman said that was not the case.

“No. We have to channel all of our energies into playing football. Off-field issues are out of our hands,” he told reporters.

“If my situation changes in any way, I hope that I am told about it. We want to gain better results and improve the way we play. That is what we are putting all of our efforts into doing. Everything outside of that is out of our control. We’ll see what happens.

“I am not liberated by what has happened, not at all. We all have our own thoughts on what happened. The team showed that it hasn’t affected us – if it had, we wouldn’t have put in a game like we did.”

Goals from Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi, either side of Juve defender Merih Demiral’s red card, saw Barcelona to their win as they moved onto six points in Group G.

Barca have only suffered one loss in their past 18 Champions League group stage games away from home, including going unbeaten in 11.

Koeman hopes Bartomeu’s exit has no impact on his side, who visit Deportivo Alaves on Saturday.

“We have to think about the sporting side. After the president’s decision, the team played well,” he said. “Hopefully it won’t affect us.”

On the pitch, one of Koeman’s biggest concerns is the form of Antoine Griezmann, who is yet to score this season.

“As far as Antoine is concerned, it’s bad luck,” the Dutchman said. “He couldn’t have done any better with his first shot against the post and it was the same on his second.

“He must continue to work. What he’s doing well is creating chances for others, and we can’t complain about him. When luck’s not on your side, the only solution is to keep working. That’s the same for any player. The goal will come, I have no doubt about that.”

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