Barcelona sporting director Deco says Xavi Hernández remains the "perfect coach" for the club despite a recent slump in performances.

Xavi guided Barça to the LaLiga title last season -- which was his first full campaign in charge of the club after taking over in 2021 -- but results this year have increased the pressure on his position.

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Barça have already dropped points against Getafe, Mallorca and Granada in the league, while two defeats in their last four games, against Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk, led to intense criticism in the media.

The Catalan side came back from a goal down to beat Alaves 2-1 on Sunday but, as was the case at Real Sociedad the week before, despite winning the match Xavi admitted the performance was a long way short of what is expected at the club.

"I have no doubt that Xavi is the best manager for Barça," Deco told Diario Sport on Monday. "He accepted the challenge of taking over at a difficult moment and he's the perfect coach to carry out the reconstruction we are undergoing."

Xavi took over from Ronald Koeman two years ago with Barça ninth in LaLiga and, after climbing the table to secure Champions League football in 2021-22, led the Blaugrana to their first league title in four years last season.

He has also overseen the overhaul of the squad, losing some of the club's greatest ever players along the way, and recently extended his contract until 2025.

"We won the league after a period in which people said it would take years for Barça to win LaLiga again," Deco added in a separate interview with RAC1. "Do not forget, we also lost the best player ever. Leo [Messi] is not here anymore and we thought it would be a big drama until we returned to winning [trophies].

"A generation of players have left Barça, players like [Sergio Busquets]. I'd like to have another Busi. We had Jordi Alba, [Gerard] Pique, emblematic players...This whole process, for a coach, is difficult to manage. Xavi has achieved it. We have renewed his contract. The confidence in him is 100%, 200%.

"Now, do we want to improve? Do we want to play better? Of course. We can't hide that, we can't say that's not the case, that we don't want a more attractive team.

"It's another thing to know why we are not hitting that level. We know we've not had all the players [available]; little by little we have been getting them back.

"We speak every day. Xavi, more than anyone, wants to play better. We know the areas we have to improve, but we can't forget the good things, either, or who we are. That is important."

Speaking after the Alaves win on Sunday, Xavi said the negativity around the team and the criticism in the media have affected performances.

"Without doubt what the media say affects how the team plays," Xavi said. "The [media] create situations and scenarios that, for me, are not real. And it affects, without any doubt, the team.

"It happened to me as a player and it's happening to my players. There is a negativity which is not good or positive at all.

"Above all, it affects the youngest players. We have a lot of youngsters and we have to protect them and give them confidence."

Going into the international break, Barça sit third in LaLiga. They are four points behind surprise leaders Girona and two away from Madrid.

In the Champions League, they are joint top of their group after four games, level with Porto, who they face later this month.