Former Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui has spoken of his regret at ‘not being given the time we needed’ to reverse the club’s fortunes.
The former Spain boss was dismissed at the end of October following a 5-1 El Clasico loss against Barcelona – leaving Madrid languishing in ninth place in La Liga after ten matches.
Speaking on the Universo Valdano show on Movistar Plus, Lopetegui said: “The team came from winning the Champions League, but even with Cristiano it had been far behind Barça and Atleti in La Liga.
“The diagnosis was that I had to improve the team collectively…and whilst it is true that we were on seven points, it was three weeks of bad luck in front of goal, but at 12 months those things would have been balanced.
“We were very satisfied with the players because of their commitment, with the feeling that they were convinced of what we were doing.
“Everything in Madrid is very fast and we tried to be consistent with what the team needed, but we did not have time.
“Isco? He is one of the players that I admire the most, he does not shirk from his responsibilities, he is a top-level player. I will not detail his season but when the collective does not work, the individualities do not either.”
