Zinedine Zidane admits Real Madrid’s preparation for matches may not be good enough ahead of Saturday’s trip to Real Betis in La Liga.
Madrid enter the game at Betis on the back of four straight draws, and Zidane pulled no punches when assessing his own performance as he felt Los Blancos’ inefficiencies began with what he asked of his players on the training field.
“A lot of players weren’t here, but those who played with their national teams did very well, now we have to re-do everything to win,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
“Maybe we haven’t done everything to win, you have to enter the match strongly and not let our opponents play.
“I’m not a magician, we’ve only worked and that’s what I believe in. I care about the commitment of the players, they were all very much involved [in training] and that’s enough for me.
“Marcelo? The good news is that he’s ready. He can give us a lot.
“Ramos? I’m upset with his injury. Sergio’s our captain and gives everything on the pitch, so it bothers me that he’s not with us, but we can’t do anything about it.
“I hope he returns as soon as possible. The criticism isn’t fair. If you ask me, he’s always delivered, he likes what he does.
“Anyone can make a comment and there’s always criticism about great players, but whether it’s fair or not is another thing.
“Critics? I won’t comment on what they say, I’ve always accepted them, I was critical of myself as a player and now I’ll do the same.
“Hard work will get us out of this run because the talent is there and the players are professionals.
“We’ve prepared for the game well, but maybe we have to prepare for games a little better, me being the first to do so.
“Benzema? When you have a player for 10 days, you can work with him. It’s very good and he’s doing okay.
“What I want is for him not to have any little annoyances. He’s working hard, I see him in a good way and I hope that he scores tomorrow. I ask that from him and all the forwards.”
