Zinedine Zidane has claimed Real Madrid will accept the congested fixture list for what it is, despite the club complaining to La Liga.
Los Blancos issued a complaint to top-flight officials on Monday after the schedule for matchdays 33 and 34 of the season left them with less than 72 hours between fixtures against Getafe and Athletic Bilbao.
Madrid felt this left them at a disadvantage compared to title rivals Barcelona, who were given five days of rest between games against Atletico Madrid and Villarreal.
However, it has since emerged that Madrid will have accumulated more rest – approximately 26 hours in total – than Barca until matchday 35, and asked if he felt the club’s complaints to La Liga were fair, Zidane insisted he is fully focused on preparing his side for the fixture list as it stands.
“Everyone does their job here, I do my thing. I have my opinion, one day are the schedules, another the referees, there is always something,” Zidane, who turned 48 on Tuesday, told a news conference ahead of Madrid’s clash with Real Mallorca.
“My job is already quite complicated, my concern is [Wednesday’s] game, it is a final, there are eight games to go and it is very important. It is what interests me.
“The calendar is what it is, what we have to do as a team is to only think about resting. The games are what they are, eleven games in a short time and we have to take care of these details.”
“I don’t know, there are many people, Madrid is an important club that is talked about every day,” Zidane answered when asked if there could potentially be a campaign against Madrid.
“Everyone can comment, in the end, it’s not about that. I don’t get into whether it’s right or wrong. Each person does his job, it is a difficult task.
“I only think about preparing the games well. That is what interests us, nothing else.”
Madrid survived a fightback from Real Sociedad – with some good fortune courtesy of VAR – to move top of La Liga on Sunday, courtesy of a 2-1 win at Anoeta.
Eden Hazard was an unused substitute in the Basque Country, while Sergio Ramos also went off with an apparent knee injury, with Zidane waiting on the availability of both players for Wednesday’s clash with Mallorca.
“We will see tomorrow, there are many games in a few days and the recovery is important,” he said.
“We will see, it is day to day. We have not done many things today, we will see [on Wednesday].”
