Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho refused to be preoccupied with rivals Barcelona's winning run at the start of the current season, pointing out that the Spanish league is like a "long marathon", as he described it.
Barcelona have swept all before them in La Liga. Six rounds in, the team boast a perfect record at the top of the table, with 28 goals scored, at least 11 clear of any other side.
Real Madrid, by contrast, are not convincing their fans, despite collecting 15 points to sit second. Now they prepare for one of the most important tests of the season, hosting neighbours Atletico Madrid tomorrow, Sunday, in the pick of the seventh round.
Asked at today's press conference, Saturday, ahead of the derby, whether Barcelona's level worried him, Mourinho insisted he saw no need to draw comparisons with his rivals.
The Portuguese manager said, as reported by the newspaper "AS": "Historically and culturally, Real Madrid cannot compare itself to anyone, and for this reason I will not compare myself to any team. I talk about ourselves, and I do so without a problem, just as I talk about our problems and what needs to be improved."
"Even though it has become more and more difficult to hear something positive about Real Madrid, we continue our work with humility, and without any problem in being aware of our problems, but we are also aware of the very good things we have in the team," he added.
Mourinho cites the Elche and Betis matches
Real Madrid's character and their ability to handle difficult moments drew praise from the Portuguese manager, who pointed to several of the team's matches this season.
He said: "In the three matches in which we reached the final minutes needing to score to win or draw, we finished them with physical and psychological strength, and with a fighting spirit and determination."
"It can be said clearly that this is not normal. It is not normal to go 2-0 up against Elche and then concede an equaliser in the 80th minute, but it is also not normal to draw level in the 80th minute, then for the team to change within a few minutes, and create a chance and then another and then another, and score and win," he explained.
"It is also not normal to be behind against Betis, and to have this heart, then for us to score Asensio's amazing goal and miss the penalty, and yet we still have the strength to do more," he continued.
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"The strength of the group gives me confidence"
What Mourinho sees in Real Madrid runs beyond the technical quality of the players. It lies in the strength that emerges when the team works as a group.
He said: "This team, alongside the quality it possesses, has a strength of great significance. It is the strength of the group, and this gives me confidence."
Judging the title race over a short sprint makes no sense, the Real Madrid manager concluded, saying: "This is a marathon, not a motorway", a nod to his belief that the Whites can turn things around by the end of the season.
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