Boss calmer than players

Coach Vicente del Bosque is not worried about his fact that his team currently occupies one of La Liga's relegation spots.

In an interview with sports daily Marca, he was anxious to defend his team after their poor start to the league campaign.

"I'm satisfied with my players," he said. "I've no complaints about them or about the way the team is functioning."

He put Saturday’s defeat against Real Betis down to the fact that Los Merengues were unable to take advantage of their first-half dominance.

"We were playing well," he argued, "but we went two goals behind and it was impossible to get back."

When asked whether he was worried, he answered: "I was neither unduly worried about losing to Betis, nor did I crow about beating Roma. We've got to have a sense of balance and look at things long-term."

The mood expressed by some of the players though contrasts with the image of tranquillity being presented by manager and chairman.

In the wake of Saturday’s defeat in Seville striker Jose Maria Gutierrez, Guti, spoke of 'a step backwards'.

"A team like Real Madrid shouldn't be without a victory after three games. Now we've got two games at home, and we hope to improve and gain our first victory. The truth is we're all a bit worried," Guti claimed.

Keeper Cesar Sanchez, a surprise replacement for Iker Casillas on Saturday, echoed Guti's concern: "We're not happy about what's happening in the league, and especially after playing so well in Rome. It's clear that the other teams have been strengthened, and we've got to get our act together right now and start winning as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, Ivan Campo, whose error led to Betis' first goal, was dismissing talk of a crisis.
"There's no crisis at all," he told the same paper. "It's time to take a look at things and correct some of the mistakes we made against Betis so that we don't repeat them in future."