Real Madrid's Ramos focused on present

Feb 25, 2009 - 4:50 AM By PA SportsTicker

Juande Ramos refused to entertain the thought on Tuesday that his long-term future at Real Madrid could depend on the outcome of its Champions League last 16 showdown with Liverpool.

Ramos has enjoyed an almost perfect start to life since replacing Bernd Schuster in the Bernabeu hot seat in December, winning 10 of his first 11 matches and helping the Spanish giant trim Barcelona's lead at the Primera Liga summit back from 12 points to seven.

However, Ramos was only handed an initial six-month contract when he took over the reins. It remains to be seen what the former Tottenham and Sevilla coach must do to earn an extended tenure, especially with presidential elections scheduled at Madrid for this summer.

One school of thought is that Ramos must win a trophy to stay in the post, and with Barca still enjoying a sizeable lead at the top of La Liga and Madrid already out of the Copa del Rey, it appears that the Champions League is the club's best bet of picking up some silverware this season.

That has provided yet another subplot to the clash against fellow European superpower Liverpool, but Ramos insists he is not thinking about what the tie will mean for his own career, only on helping Madrid get beyond the last 16 stage for the first time since 2004.

"The only thing I'm interested in is getting through the tie because that's the only important thing for Real Madrid," he said. "It's an attractive tie against a tough team. It's been a few years since Madrid got past this round and this is the only incentive for us.

"My personal situation is not important, I'm only thinking of getting through."

Ramos also preferred not to comment on how drastically things have changed for him over the last few months.

He parted company with previous club Spurs last October after presiding over the worst ever start to a league season in the club's history, with just just two points picked up from their opening eight Premier League games.

However, since taking over at Madrid, he has managed to turn the reigning Primera Liga champions from a team in crisis to one of the most in-form teams in Europe.

In the same period of time that Ramos has been at the Bernabeu, his successor at Spurs Harry Redknapp has managed only two wins in 10 Barclays Premier League matches.

"I don't have to prove my reputation as a coach, I've been a coach for many years and everybody knows about me," Ramos said.

"I'm proud of our good run because it's been very good for Real Madrid. I don't have anything to say about Tottenham."