On Wednesday he went public to defend himself, telling Marca that 'I have built the best possible squad with the money that has been made available to me'.

Garcia Pitarch added that it was 'a shame' that he had not been able to offload unwanted players like Jose Antonio Reyes and Maxi Rodriguez.

Regarding the Heitinga affair, he claimed that Atletico had received 'useful money' for the Dutchmen, for whom Everton have paid around 7.5 million euros.

'The economic situation has not permitted us to sign more players and we don't want players just to fill up the squad.'

Garcia Pitarch finished by pointing out that the squad that he has put together has managed to qualify for the Champions League in two successive seasons.

Meanwhile, embattled club president Enrique Cerezo said Wednesday that 'we have a fantastic squad.'

Cerezo admitted, in a sideswipe at Garcia Pitarch, that 'it would have been good to have signed another midfielder, but that is not for me to decide.'

He accepted the 'concern' of many fans at the lack of signings - and at last Sunday's 3-0 debut defeat away to Malaga, a defeat which has left Atletico bottom of La Liga.