Mourinho tells stuttering Real to step up
Reuters - Tuesday 28 August 2012, 17:23
Jose Mourinho's priority is not
to win the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona on Wednesday but
to ensure Real Madrid have recovered from their shock La Liga
defeat at Getafe.
Mourinho called Real's performance "unacceptable" after his
team squandered a halftime lead to lose 2-1 at their city rivals
on Sunday. The league champions are without a win in three
matches in all competitions this season.
They must overturn a 3-2 deficit in the second leg to win
the Super Cup and Mourinho told a news conference he wanted to
see a complete change in attitude at Real's Bernabeu stadium.
"For me the only problem is if the difference in performance
between the first two games and the last match remains, that's
the only problem," he said.
"Win the Super Cup, not win the Super Cup. Beat Barca, not
beat Barca. None of that is important to me right now.
"My priority right now is to know whether the attitude we
had against Getafe was a chance happening or whether it's a
situation that has had consequences on the psychological profile
of some players.
"That for me is the fundamental thing for tomorrow."
Attention was deflected on Monday from Real's poor start to
the campaign by blanket media coverage of the signing of Luka
Modric from Tottenham Hotspur.
The Croatia playmaker trained with his new team mates on
Monday evening and Mourinho said he would be ready for action
soon despite not playing a competitive match this season and
training apart from the rest of the Tottenham squad.
"Modric's condition is normal for a player who hasn't
trained with their team in a while," Mourinho said. "A player
like Modric will be in a good form soon."
The Portuguese manager did not rule out more arrivals and
departures before the European transfer window closes on Friday.
Central defender Pepe, who suffered a head injury in the 1-1
home draw with Valencia on the opening weekend of La Liga,
trained as normal on Monday and will hopefully be available to
play against Barca, Mourinho said.
Barca have won the Super Cup, which pits the league
champions against the King's Cup winners, for the past three
years. Real last triumphed in 2008.