Juande Ramos Wants Settled XI At Real Madrid

It would be hard to argue that after his disastrous spell at Tottenham Hotspur, Juande Ramos has regained an element of his credibility since moving to the Bernabeu and helping to steady the ship that Bernd Schuster almost sank.

Madrid look a different proposition now that Ramos has his side organised and most importantly not conceding goals while also showing some attacking flair with Arjen Robben particularly in excellent form at the moment.

There are a number of players on the periphery of the first-team at the moment, namely Guti and Rafael Van der Vaart, but Ramos has insisted that if his starting line-up continue to produce positive performances he will be forced to stick with the same eleven.

He told Spanish radio Marca, "If the team is working well and we are playing every seven days, I think I should change the side as little as possible.

"When we start to play more often, every three or four days, then I may begin to make changes, but for now things are going well."

Title Talk

Understandably Ramos refuses to rule his side out of the title race, despite Los Merengues falling 12 points behind their rivals in the race for the Primera Division title.

The 54-year old-continued, "We have to go with the flow at the moment, to achieve all of our objectives, and if possible win a title."

Ramos refused to be drawn into the debate regarding the registration of either Lassana Diarra or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for the later stages of the Champions League.

The coach remained neutral saying, "Of course they are both players that I like very much because they are both great footballers.

"Diarra has had more need for the team because of injuries to Ruben and to Guti, but all talk is just speculation at the moment. We will make our decision based on the needs of the team."

Finally Ramos discussed the mouth-watering clash with Liverpool in the super-sixteen of the Champions League, calling it a 'beautiful match'.

He finished, "This is a chance for Madrid to regain their self-esteem. I think the result is 50/50, although I understand why people may make Liverpool the favourite because they are leading the Premier League.

Paul Macdonald, Goal.com





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