Mijatovic Dismisses Capello Departure Rumours

Real Madrid sporting director Predrag Mijatovic has dismissed claims Fabio Capello is on the verge of leaving the club, insisting he still has "total confidence" in the beleaguered coach.

Reports yesterday suggested Capello had already offered his resignation to the Madrid board, and would depart immediately after tonight's Champions League match with Bayern Munich. However, club spokesman Miguel Angel Arroyo was adamant last night that Capello, who has come in for significant criticism of late following inconsistent performances from his side, had done no such thing.

Mijatovic today backed Arroyo's stance, replying "No, never" when asked if Capello had considered leaving the Spanish giants, before insisting he still had the full backing of the board.

"We have total confidence in the coach," he continued. "We have a good relationship and we speak a lot. We are not reaching the desired results and we are taking few points from our home matches. But we are playing well away from the Santiago Bernabeu. I hope that a couple of good games will show the fans that we have the capacity to react to the situation."

Having won just four points from their last four games, Real lie fourth in La Liga, four points behind leaders Barcelona.