Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has held a crunch meeting with Zinedine Zidane.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez met with head coach Zinedine Zidane to discuss his future ahead of this evening’s El Clasico. Pressure has been mounting on the Frenchman following a string of poor results.
However, Perez has backed his boss and assured him his job is safe, according to Spanish publication Marca.
Winning trophies is often not enough to keep a manager in his position at the Bernabeu.
Fabio Capello was dismissed in 2007 for failing to progress beyond the last-16 of the Champions League, despite winning the La Liga title.
Bernd Schuster lost his job just two years later despite also beating Barcelona to the domestic title.
Carlo Ancelotti was axed in 2015 after winning the Spanish Cup - which shows just how high the bar is set.
Real are on a poor run of form heading into tonight’s showdown with their arch-rivals.
They were knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the quarter-finals by Real Sociedad.
After beating Osasuna, Los Blancos then drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo, lost 1-0 to Levante and more crucially were beaten 2-1 at home to Manchester City in the Champions League.
Failure to win the European tournament could spell the end of Zidane’s second spell in the Spanish capital.
But Perez has attempted to stabilise the club by meeting with the manager ahead of El Clasico.
Two points separate league-leaders Barcelona and second-placed Real heading into tonight’s showdown at the Bernabeu.
And Marca say Zidane has welcomed Perez’s vote of confidence ahead of a crucial game in the title race.
However, the 47-year-old was coy over his future when asked in his pre-match press conference.
He said: "What I care about is continuing what we're doing, so ask someone else."
"Only one team wins in each competition and we're going to try and make it us."
"What we need to ensure is our mood is positive. It's by sticking together that we're going to get out of this and not listening to what's being said."
"What we need is for our fans to be with us from the first minute to the 90th. I can understand if they are frustrated or annoyed, but we need them."