Reports out of Spain have indicated that Barcelona’s ‘B’ side coach, Serji Barjuan, has been called up to stem the bleeding after Ronald Koeman was sacked in the wake of a disappointing loss to Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday.

Barjuan’s appointment was nnounced in a statement from the LaLiga club today (October 28).

“(Barjuan) shall be taking provisional charge of the technical management of the senior squad. His interim position as first team head coach shall end as soon as the club has hired full-time head coach to replace the dismissed Ronald Koeman,” the club said in a statement.

Koeman had presided over what has been described as Barcelona’s worst run of form for the past 20 years, culminating in the Wednesday’s loss, the fourth defeat in six games in all competitions.

XAVI EXPECTED TO BECOME PERMANENT COACH

Former midfielder Xavi, who enjoyed a 17-year, trophy-laden career at the club and is currently head coach of Qatari side Al Sadd, is expected to take over on a permanent basis.

Barcelona President Joan Laporta was expected to officially introduce Barjuan to the first team squad today, at the club’s Ciutat Esportiva training ground, before the coach is presented to the media tomorrow.

From there, he will face the task of preparing the team for the LaLiga clash with Alaves in which the Catalan club will be seeking to avoid a third successive league defeat.

Barcelona are currently ninth in the standings with 15 points from 10 games, a far cry from the recent glory years in which the team rarely saw the outside of the top three spots in the league. In the Champions League, the team will face Dynamo Kiev in a crucial away game on November 2 when defeat would leave them in serious danger of failing to reach the knockout phase.