Former Real Madrid striker Santillana says the club should stick with boss Rafa Benitez but has backed Zinedine Zidane to take over as boss eventually.
The ex-Los Blancos man, won won nine titles between 1971 and 1988, told Marca that Benitez needs time to make his mark on the team.
Reports surfaced earlier this week that Benitez could find himself out of a job if Real lose another game soon, with Zidane being lined up to take over. Los Blancos were thumped by Barcelona last month and blew the chance to close the gap on the league leaders last weekend when they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Villarreal.
Speaking to L’Equipe, Santillana said: “I think Benitez still has room to improve the team’s game. It would be a bit premature to change manager. I have no doubt about the fact that Zidane, or any player who wore the Real jersey -like Michel, for example — would be very good for Real, but I wouldn’t like to talk about this subject while Rafa Benitez is the manager.”
He added: “I think that, at the moment, Florentino has to demonstrate patience and serenity and to show confidence in his manager. The team can still battle for the title in La Liga. In the Champions League, we can still have a very good run. From that point of view, putting so much pressure on Rafa Benitez seems to me to be bad for the club.”
