Xavi accepts he is under pressure at Barcelona

The Catalan outfit were knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage on Wednesday, suffering a 4-2 defeat to Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.

The two teams were level at the end of 90 minutes, before Athletic netted twice in extra-time through Inaki Williams and Nico Williams to secure their spot in the final four.

Barcelona lost the Spanish Super Cup final earlier this month, meaning that they can only win a maximum of two trophies this season in the shape of La Liga and the Champions League.

The reigning Spanish champions are third in Spain's top flight, though, eight points behind leaders Girona, while they have a tough assignment against Napoli in the last-16 stage of the Champions League.

Xavi's position as head coach continues to be called into question, and there have been fresh rumours since Wednesday's loss at San Mames.

The club's legendary ex-midfielder has accepted that he must deliver trophies or his job will be on the line, telling reporters on Wednesday: "Like any manager at a big club, my job depends on titles.

"If we're not competing well by the end of this season, the normal thing would be that I left the club. This is Barca; I know where I am.

"This club has a very good future, and I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about the youngsters that are coming through. That's why I'm playing them, I want them to be ready for the future. I don't care if I am the manager or not.

"The team's morale will go up again if we win on Saturday. We had the match today. It was a coin toss, and it landed on their side."

Xavi also insisted that his side "can be proud" of their performance against Athletic despite the disappointing nature of the result.

"We can be proud. We tried very hard and we competed until the end," he told reporters. "We have competed very well against a great team that is very strong at home.

"They're very difficult and intense. I already said this since we got them in the draw. Even though people will judge us only based on the result, we are proud of how we competed.

"We have to rebuild ourselves and try to compete for La Liga and the Champions League."

Barcelona now have back-to-back home La Liga matches to end the month, welcoming Villarreal on Saturday evening before hosting Osasuna next Wednesday.