SUCCESSIVE DEFEATS by Chelsea and Real Madrid have not diminished Pep Guardiola’s faith in his players or his belief that they will immediately get back to winning ways, the Barcelona coach said yesterday.

The Spanish and European champions need to overturn a 1-0 deficit from last week’s first leg and are on the brink of losing their domestic title after Real’s 2-1 win at Camp Nou put Jose Mourinho’s side seven points clear with four games left.

Guardiola was on the receiving end of rare criticism after the loss to Real but gave a defiant and confident performance at a news conference before the Chelsea game. “I have to face these situations and I can face them with a certain sadness about recent results or I can face them with optimism,” the former Barca and Spain midfielder said. “I have faith in my players, you know that, and I have faith in them in good and bad times,” he added.

“Whenever you suffer defeat you feel a bit low but afterwards you gain faith from analysing the facts. We are talking about very experienced players who have faced these kinds of situations many times before. They prepare properly and they compete properly and I don’t think tomorrow will be different.”

Chelsea and Real got the better of Barca by allowing them to dominate possession, defending solidly in numbers and looking to catch them on the break and Guardiola said he expected a similar scenario tonight.

The 41-year-old, who has led Barca to 13 trophies since taking over in 2008, was criticised for leaving Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez and Pedro out of his starting line-up against Real but defended his tactics.

“I have seen the match against Madrid and I really don’t think we made mistakes,” he said. “I saw it this morning and I think we had control, I think we did a good job.

“We didn’t have that many chances but it’s very difficult with Real Madrid. We have a very distinctive way of playing and we have played like this for four years and as long as I am coach we will do the same.

“Our first and fundamental principle is based on kids playing the ball around and having fun. That’s never going to change. The ball is the master of everything.”

Guardiola said World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, whom Chelsea and Real managed to prevent adding to his tally of 63 goals in all competitions this season, had missed training on Sunday because of gastric problems but had now recovered.

“Our mentality is that we are starting tomorrow with a 1-0 deficit and we have to overturn it, that’s it,” Guardiola said. “In general I am always optimistic. The more successful you are the more demanding the job becomes and it’s a challenge but it’s a positive challenge.”

Meanwhile, Guardiola and defender Gerard Pique have played down reports of a rift, with both saying the centre back was left out of the Spanish and European champions’ last two matches for purely sporting reasons.

Spain international Pique was an unused substitute at Chelsea last week and Saturday’s reverse at home to Real, prompting further speculation his relationship with Guardiola had broken down.

Pique said he was focusing on working hard to win back his place in the starting 11. “This is a new situation for me because I am used to playing and I haven’t had a chance in the last couple of matches,” Pique said yesterday. “But it’s a technical decision for the manager and he chooses who plays and you have to respect that,” added the former Manchester United player.

“Every year there are new players and he chooses the team he thinks most capable of winning. I take each match at a time and train hard and try to show the coach I deserve to be in the team.”