MADRID, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- It seems that Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui will remain in charge of the club at least until Sunday's 'Clasico' away to FC Barcelona after he received the support of Real Madrid's head of Institutional Relations, Emilio Butragueno.
Real Madrid's narrow and unconvincing 2-1 win over Czech club Viktoria Plzen saw Lopetegui's side booed off the pitch by fans in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium even though the club ended a run of five games without a win.
Butragueno confirmed after the match that Lopetegui would not be sacked before the weekend.
"Lopetegui will sit on the bench at Camp Nou as normal," said Butragueno on Spanish TV.
"In this kind of situation, it is important to remain calm and trust the players. Sunday's game is a great motivation for us," the former player added.
However, Butragueno admitted it was "normal" for Lopetegui's future to be questioned.
"This is football. We have heard the rumours, but we have confidence and hopefully we will play well at Camp Nou," he said.
Lopetegui meanwhile told the press that his side deserved to win by a greater margin, after once again spurning chances.
"We had a lot of changes, but we conceded a late goal and began to get nervous. We are in a dynamic where we are finding it really hard to score, but the result which ends a negative run is the most important thing," he said.
When asked whether he expected to still be in the job at the weekend, the former Spain boss replied, "that question isn't for me, but I am thinking about Sunday's game and tomorrow we will start to prepare for it."
One player whose availability is in doubt ahead of the 'Clasico' is left-back Marcelo, who had to leave Tuesday's game in the closing minutes after suffering an ankle injury.
