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GUARDIOLA METHODS IMPRESS XAVI
Guardiola - backed by Xavi.
Xavi expressed his optimism for the Pep Guardiola era after Barcelona's new manager began his reign with a 6-0 thrashing of Hibernian.
The players looked eager to impress their new boss as they struck four times in the first 26 minutes of a one-sided friendly at Murrayfield on Thursday night.
Barcelona, who needed a late penalty to beat Dundee United in their first pre-season match last year, stepped up a few gears in their latest trip to Scotland.
With another match at Tannadice to follow on Saturday, Xavi is keen to get involved after missing out in Edinburgh because he and Spain team-mates Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol were given extra time off.
The midfielder arrived in St Andrews on Wednesday but he did not need much time to be impressed by the methods of his former team-mate Guardiola, who took over from Frank Rijkaard following a disappointing season.
"It's fantastic to have a coach like Guardiola," Xavi said. "He knows so much about Barcelona, he knows the players, he knows how we work, he is the ideal coach.
"The way we work has changed a little bit, he takes care of the small details and that's very important because the small details are the ones that can make you win or lose a game.
"In training they demand a lot of new things from the players, but the philosophy of the club is more or less the same. It's the philosophy Barcelona have always had - to keep possession of the ball and play attacking football."
Xavi's performances during Spain's Euro 2008 triumph increased his already high profile around Europe - but he has not considered moving beyond Spain, specifically to England.
"I'm a Barcelona player and I haven't thought about that," said Xavi, who was voted player of the tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
"I play in a good league with major clubs, I'm happy at Barcelona. My contract runs until 2010.
"I am from Barcelona and have always supported the club so I would like to stay but you never know what's going to happen."
More and more Spaniards have tried their luck in Britain in recent years and Xavi was not surprised to hear Carlos Cuellar has impressed at Rangers.
"I know Cuellar from Osasuna," he said. "He is good physically and technically. If you say some English clubs want him I am not surprised because he's a very good player."
The former Barca captain side-stepped questions over his Euro 2008 celebrations from the travelling journalists - he apparently upset some Catalan nationalists by shouting 'Viva Espana' into a microphone.
"Anyone who feels angry about this was mixing football with politics," he said. "I don't want to mix football with politics.
"I just want to get on with my Barcelona career and I don't want to express my political views in public. I am Catalan, I feel Catalan but I also want to play for the Spanish team."
