Pique: Let's not throw things in each other's faces Athletic vs Barcelona Referring to the Messi-Abidal incident

Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique had to be withdrawn in the 80th minute of the Catalans' 1-0 defeat to Athletic Club in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday, yet much of the discussion was still on Tuesday's disagreement between Lionel Messi and Eric Abidal.

The Catalan defender is not afraid to be outspoken on matters relating to the club, but he stated that there is a need to come together until the end of the season.

"Everyone knows what they've done wrong and right," Pique said in the mixed zone.

"From there, we have to keep working, not throwing things in our faces from now until the end of the season, because it doesn't help.

"We have to focus on our style of play and on winning; at this club, we have been founded on victories and we have to return to that path.

"We have the capacity to continue winning and we are working on that every day, to find those feelings and a style of play that every day is becoming more like the coach's idea.

"The dressing room is completely united."

When asked if Barcelona are still in crisis, Pique wanted to instead focus on their performance at San Mames.

"It's not the time to dig up dirt, which all clubs have," he stated.

"What I can say is that our confidence is at its highest, we're happy with the way we've played and reacted to the outside noise.

"It's really hard because we were eliminated; we took an important step, we had a very positive feeling - it was a very important step forward."