Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini has three games to save his job - including their massive clash with Barcelona.
After limping to their Copa victory - and ultimate exit - over Alcorcon on Tuesday night, president Florentino Perez and major board members held an emergency meeting about Pellegrini's situation, says AS.
Real powerbrokers Fernando Fernandez Tapias and Eduardo Fernandez de Blas both dined with Perez and demanded action be taken. But the president urged calm and told his colleagues that they should support Pellegrini for at least the next three games against Racing Santander, FC Zurich and ... Barcelona.
Tapias and De Blas both raised concerns over Pellegrini's team selection, the treatment of Guti and Esteban Granero and the lack of minutes for major summer signings Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso. The Sergio Ramos fiasco has also seen a rift develop between Pellegrini and general manager Jorge Valdano.
But Florentino insists Pellegrini needs support and that there is no reason to make snap judgments so early into his new project.