Gerardo Martino insists he's 'all in' with his new job at Barcelona.

Martino, who led Newell's Old Boys to the Argentinian Clausura title last season but recently severed ties with the club, admits Barca's approach had caught him off guard.

"Of course it took me by surprise," he said.

"I had virtually prepared myself to take a break and wait for the right job opportunity to arise."

Looking ahead to his new life in Spain, Martino said: "It's a big challenge to join a club of this magnitude and to try and do a good job. As with every big club, I want our team to be serious candidates to win every competition.

"We understand the institution that were going to, its history, how they have a defined style, and we are the ones who must insert ourselves into that and see how we can make our contribution to a squad that is very good and which has done great things in recent years.

"I don't know when I'll take charge of my first match, first I must adapt and finish with the contractual matters."

Martino also denied there will be an option in his contract which would free him to take over national team duties with Argentina, saying: "I don't put clauses in my contracts."