Paco Alcacer is adamant that he is able to blank out the criticism after his Barcelona goal drought extended to 10 games in Wednesday's Copa del Rey draw against Hercules.

Alcacer, a summer signing from Valencia for an initial fee of €30 million, was making his fifth start for Barca, including the Catalan Super Cup defeat to Espanyol in October, but once again came up short in front of goal.

The closest he came in Alicante was from a deflected free kick and there are signs that his confidence has been affected, even if he insists otherwise.

"There are a lot of people that want me to get the first [goal] and then kick on and I'm the first person who wants to score," he said after the Hercules draw. "I'm not going to give up just because the ball has not gone in yet. I have to keep a cool head and keep trying.

"It is not an overwhelming situation. I have to look at what my manager and the club are saying. I have to isolate myself from what the journalists are saying because they say good and bad things and things can get in your head which aren't true either way.

"I am getting chances to play and to score, but luck is not by my side. Some teammates are even more keen for me to score my first goal than I am, so I hope [my luck] changes soon."

Paco Alcacer is yet to score for Barcelona. Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

Alcacer is unlikely to start against Real Madrid on Saturday and that lack of continuity has been a factor in his stuttering form.

Despite that being taken into consideration, there has still been criticism for the striker, who took Munir El Haddadi's space in the squad, and Luis Enrique was forced to defend him earlier this week.

"I think you should leave Paco in peace," the Barca coach responded to a question about the 23-year-old's goal drought. "Why put pressure on a player who's not getting much playing time?

"He needs to be left to develop in peace with the time he's getting on the pitch, which isn't much. So let's not dwell on the negatives of a player who's come to help us. I have every faith in him and it's ridiculous to put any criticism on him."