Ronald Koeman flaws laid bare as Barcelona star unveils dressing room atmosphere

It has all been almost a month since Barcelona confirmed the sacking of Ronald Koeman following a sustained run of below par results.

A painful defeat in El Clasico against Real Madrid was followed by a limp loss at Rayo Vallecano three days later that meant that Koeman's fate was inevitable.

The run of results meant that Barca had won just four of their final 12 matches under the Dutchman, who left the club languishing in mid-table and with an uncertain position in the Champions League.

It was a decision meant Barca must pay Koeman £10million in compensation, ending the Dutchman's 14-month tenure in the dugout.

The Catalan giants then made the subsequent appointment of former club captain Xavi Hernandez as new head coach, after interim boss Sergi Barjuan's two league games saw underwhelming draws against Alaves and Celta Vigo.

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A member of Barca's first-team squad has now spoken out about the atmosphere in the dressing room while Koeman was boss, and it does not reflect kindly upon the manager.

Defender Oscar Mingueza explained how "players were not happy" under the Dutch boss and even went so far as to say they had "stopped trusting" what he was telling them.

That Mingueza - a Barca youth graduate - said these words is even more revealing, as he was handed his first-team debut by Koeman and made 50 appearances under the boss.

Mingueza has told Esport3, as per Goal.com : "The dressing room needed a change.

"There was no atmosphere. Players were not happy.

"And when you're not well and things don't turn out, you need a change.

"The team stopped trusting [Koeman's methods] and everyone tried to fix things on their own. We weren't good, neither individually nor collectively.

"When the dynamics aren't good, everyone does what they can but we lacked self-belief."

The defender also pledged that "things would get better" under new boss Xavi, who has been taking training sessions at the Camp Nou over the past two weeks during the international break after returning to the club from Qatari team Al Sadd.

Mingueza added of the new boss: "Xavi's training is very focused on the idea of what we want to do on the pitch.

"It is good that we have a clear idea and that we all work in a specific way to obtain a good result as a team.

"I'm sure things will change and get better now. And I don't think we'll have to wait two or three months to see those changes.

"Starting this weekend, we'll see new things."

Xavi's stint as Barca boss gets underway this weekend with a league clash against Catalan rivals Espanyol.