Jose Mourinho was in defiant mood as he spoke to the press ahead of the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico Madrid.

The Real Madrid coach was booed by a sector of the Real Madrid fans in his side's Copa del Rye win at home to Alcoyano on Wednesday night, that came in the wake of his side's 1-0 defeat to Betis last weekend which leaves them 11 points behind FC Barcelona in the race for the La Liga title.

The past week has seen increased speculation over Mourinho's future at the club as it seems increasingly likely he will abandon the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the campaign.

Meanwhile it seems Mourinho is steeling himself for another rough ride from the home fans.

"I have been in the game long enough for it not to affect me. I hope that the fans support the team and help them win the game," he said.

"If people want to boo me, I will be out there at 21:20 (it is a 22:00 kickoff) if people want to boo me, I'll be there and I will accept calmly and with humility. It seems it has become a national pastime to criticize me. I accept that because I make people happy," continued Mourinho.

"This is a game to enjoy. If you win, you enjoy it a lot and if you lose, then you are also happy in the end. I enjoy the 90 minutes he said, before praising Atletico coach Diego Simeone, whose side are currently eight point ahead of Real Madrid, but who have failed to beat their rivals since 1999."

Simeone admitted it would be hard for Atletico after so long without defeating their rivals, but was confident the time would come.

"We are not thinking about the numbers, we know that all runs must come to an end. We have to be prepared and determined. I am not thinking about the past, we are going to try and win the three points."

"We know how much the fans want to win and we are not alien to those feelings, but we are up against a strong team who are the reigning champions," he said, looking forward to the match

"The derby is fantastic, it is exciting, but there are just three points up for grabs. We have to show we can compete and are able to play a good game. Real Madrid need points and I look at our rivals bearing in mind the players they have rather than their position in the league," said Simeone. Endi

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