Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has thrown his support behind under-fire head coach Rafael Benitez.
Benitez only took charge of the Spanish giants in the summer, but back-to-back defeats in the league led to suggestions that the Spaniard would be relieved of his duties at the Bernabeu.
Speculation increased following Saturday's 4-0 home defeat to Barcelona in El Clasico, and when Perez called for an unscheduled press conference earlier on Monday it had been thought that Benitez would be sacked as head coach.
However, Perez insisted to the assembled media that Benitez's position is safe.
"We want to communicate that Rafa Benitez has all our support and confidence. Rafa has just started his job here, let him keep working, and he will achieve his objectives," Perez told reporters.
"We offer full support for our coach who will be capable of turning this situation around - which comes from last January... I ask fans to support the team. We need their encouragment now more than ever.
"We had a very bad game (El Clasico) as the world saw, but these things happen. It was not due to a lack of application."
Real Madrid are next in action on Wednesday, when they will travel to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
Matt Law
