Messi our leader, nobody will replace him: Barcelona coach

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique on Tuesday said star footballer Lionel Messi is their leader and he finds no reason why someone should replace him.

Messi is nursing an injury and will be unavailable for the club till November. Brazilian striker Neymar has tried to fill in the big boots of the Argentine and netted four times in Saturday's 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou. But Enrique insists they still have their leader in Messi.

"We try to work as a group. We have our leader in Messi, we cannot seek new leaders constantly," Enrique was quoted as saying by goal.com.

However, midfielder Sergio Busquets believes Neymar can fill in for Messi.

"Neymar has the capability to be a leader in the absence of Lionel. He's one of those players who can make the team feel better," Busquets said.

Barcelona have leaked goals this season but have still managed to stay level on points with La Liga leaders Real Madrid. They are on top of the Champions League group too.

"What is important is our path throughout the season, we are aware that we need to improve. When we have a defensive situation in which we are conceding too many goals, it is not just a problem in the defence, but the entire team, starting with the coach," Enrique added.

"We never stop trying to find solutions as a group and we are working every week. In our last game, the problems were solved."