Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says he has the full support of club president Florentino Perez, despite the team's poor run of form so far in 2015.
Madrid set a new club record of 22 consecutive victories as they roared through the autumn months in the wake of their historic 10th European Cup triumph in May.
However, since the winter break Los Blancos have lost four and drawn two of their 14 outings in all competitions, while losing the lead in La Liga and being eliminated from the Copa del Rey.
Speaking at the prematch news conference ahead of Tuesday's Champions League round-of-16 second leg at home to Schalke, the Italian coach said that Perez had been in regular contact since Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao to reiterate his backing.
"I have spoken to the president," Ancelotti said. "He has called me a lot over the last few days to give me his support and best wishes. In this regard, especially this week, I have been supported a lot. The club's support is always there, they have a lot of confidence in my work and I am grateful for that."
Madrid have taken just one point from their last two outings - a 1-1 home draw with Villarreal and the reverse at Athletic, a run which has seen a four-point advantage over Barcelona become a one-point deficit behind the new league leaders.
Having defended misfiring attackers Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo earlier in the news conference, Ancelotti was then asked if he should be held personally responsible for the team's poor run of results. "One hundred percent," he said. "When a team isn't doing well, the manager has 100 percent responsibility."
However the experienced media operator, who guided Madrid to the Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies during his first season at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, then added with a smile: "When a team wins, I also know that the coach deserves no credit. That is clear."
Ancelotti was more serious when he admitted that any further slip by his side could jeopardise their entire campaign.
"No team can afford to make errors now," he said. "Each error compromises the season. At the moment there is more pressure on everyone. We are all very sorry about the two games. We have already made the mistakes. Now we need more consistency."