Zinedine Zidane determined to turn around Real Madrid slump after latest defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane rubbished claims that he could leave the club after a string of poor results. The Frenchman went on to say that the Spanish giants did not deserve to lose after going down 2-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday.
The loss to Shakhtar was Real Madrid's second to the Ukrainians in Europe this season. Their latest defeat in the Champions League leaves their hopes of reaching the knockout stages in the balance.
Borussia Monchengladbach top Group B in the Champions League with eight points. Shakhtar are currently in second place in the group with seven points, followed by Real Madrid who also have seven points.
Real needed to win on Tuesday to confirm their spot in the last 16, but will now have to get a result against Monchengladbach and hope that Shakhtar falter against Inter Milan.
Madrid have made it out of their group in every year since 1997 and failure to do so this season would be seen as a disaster. However, Zidane said he would not leave the club that he has so far led to three Champions League triumphs and two La Liga titles over two spells as coach.
Zinedine Zidane's position at Real Madrid could be on the line after their latest loss in the Champions League
Zinedine Zidane's side has come in for much criticism this season after putting in a number of underwhelming performances. Real Madrid are currently fourth in La Liga, having gone three games without victory. The French tactician, however, rubbished claims that he would walk away from the job.
"I am not going to resign, not at all. We are always going to have difficult moment, and we are on a bad run, but we need to keep going," said Zinedine Zidane.
"I have the strength needed to turn the situation around and I am going to give everything to do that, so are the players. We played well and we deserved more. We just need to lift our heads up and think about the next game."
Zinedine Zidane will be given time to turn things around at Real Madrid, but the alarm bells are surely ringing at the moment.
With the Champions League campaign hanging in the balance and the La Liga title race slipping away from them as well, Real President Florentino Perez could be tempted to look elsewhere soon.
Zinedine Zidane will be wary of the availability of top quality managers such as Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri, and will therefore be under pressure to provide immediate results in the coming weeks.