Lopez Caro to continue as Real coach till end of season

Real Madrid caretaker coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro will continue in his role till the end of the season, the Primera Liga club announced on their website on Monday.

Lopez Caro was promoted from youth team coach, on a temporary basis, on Dec 4, following the sacking of Vanderlei Luxemburgo.

A number of coaches had been linked with the post, including Liverpool's Rafael Benitez, Chelsea's Jose Mourinho and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger who had all had distanced themselves from the position.

Under Lopez Caro, Real suffered a 2-1 defeat in the Champions League against Olympiakos Piraeus, in his first game in charge, but secured a morale-boosting 2-0 away win over Malaga in the Primera Liga on Dec 11.

Sunday's 1-1 draw in the Bernabeu against 10-man Osasuna did little to appease restless fans.

Real, who play Racing Santander in the league on Wednesday, are third in the Primera Liga, eight points behind leaders Barcelona.