Fabregas calls for hearts and minds approach

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has called on his team-mates to play with their heads and not just with their hearts.

The Catalans are hurting from two straight defeats to bitter rivals Real Madrid - first in Copa del Rey and then last weekend's La Liga loss - but have no time to feel sorry for themselves with the season reaching its climax.

Jordi Roura's side play Deportivo on Saturday before a midweek return leg with AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League and Fabregas believes Barca have no chance of overturning their 2-0 deficit to the Italians if they do not perform first against Depor at Camp Nou.

"We have to give 100% against Deportivo if we want to set ourselves up for Tuesday against Milan," he told the club's website.

He added: "The team is fine. We suffered after the match against Milan. Our confidence went down and we felt that against Madrid in the Cup and the league".

Down 2-0 to AC Milan from the first leg, Barca's hopes of winning the Champions League will depend on a huge effort in the second leg in Spain.

But nobody in the team is viewing the added pressure negatively. According to the midfielder, the players just need to play a bit smarter and the desired results will come.

"When there are important matches, the players and the fans get stronger," Fabregas said.

"If we don't play with our heads it will go badly for us because getting over-excited isn't good. We have to be clever and we can't just play with our hearts, but with our heads as well. This group [of players] is due a historic comeback".

"The players are more than capable of playing in big games. Nobody doubts we can do it again, that we can turn it around. But it depends on us. On big occasions, these players have always been there. If we win and play well it could be an incredible leap of quality and motivation. You can't doubt the quality of these players because of three matches".

Despite a mini-dip in form, Barca remain 11 points clear in La Liga with 12 games to go.