Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes says the main message he and his team-mates have received from new coach Gerardo Martino is that they must retain their hunger for winning trophies.
The Argentinian coach met his new squad and coaching staff for the first time on Saturday morning before watching them trounce Norwegian side Valerenga 7-0 in Oslo. Martino takes over a side that in the past five years has won four La Liga titles, two UEFA Champions League trophies and the Copa del Rey twice.
But speaking during a promotional day in Barcelona, Valdes revealed that the new boss has urged his players to keep on striving for even more success. "He told us that we cannot lose our desire to win," Valdes said.
"We were only able to speak for a little bit, but we could see he was very excited, this is a huge project. He'll want to make his own mark on the team and show his personality. He seems like a coach who is very close to his players.
"Above all, he asked us to keep on winning. Little by little we will start to see what his style is."
Martino is the sixth coach Valdes has worked with in his 11-year career with the Catalan side, and he insisted the team will treat their new boss like any other.
"The squad has always adapted to every coach we have had, " he added. "We are a team of very good sportsmen and very good people and we will carry out the orders he gives us, as we have done with every other coach.
"He has told us that he will also try and adapt to the team so he doesn't change the dynamics too much. I think he is a very positive appointment."
Valdes, whose contract with Barcelona expires next June, confirmed he would leave the club at the end of the 2013-14 campaign, stressing that "it will be a very special season".
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