Real Madrid job on the line? Ask someone else, says Zinedine Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane shrugged off speculation over his future on Monday by telling reporters they should "ask someone else" whether his job is on the line.

The Frenchman returned to the Santiago Bernabeu in March, but is under pressure again following the 1-0 loss to Mallorca on Saturday and the club's poor start in the Champions League this term.

After Madrid captain Sergio Ramos had defended his coach in the pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday's game at Galatasaray, Zidane was then bombarded with questions about his future at the club.

Asked if he was undervalued after everything he achieved in his first spell in charge, the 47-year-old said: "No, because what happened, happened.

"Football forgets what you have done, that's life. And for me it's the same, it's the present. The past is the past. Now is the present. I'm not going to say that what is said doesn't annoy me, because it annoys me. But I can't not let people have their opinion.

"What I have to do as a coach is give my maximum and think positively. As always. We have a very special game in a very good stadium. We know the situation."

Madrid have just one point from their two group games in the Champions League this season and Zidane was asked if he was playing for his job in the match against Galatasaray.

"I don't know," he said. "Don't ask me. I want to be here always. We know the situation. Ask someone else."

Earlier, Ramos had claimed Zidane had no fear of losing his job and the Frenchman said: "It's 25 years in total (as a player and a coach). I like the difficult moments too. Not everything is pretty. You have to put up with it and have character."

Zidane also defended his players when it was suggested to him that the likes of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Junior had not been up to the required standard this season.

"It's not like that," he said. "This is a team. We don't have to single anyone out. I'm the one responsible for that. I trust this squad."