The goalkeeper of Real Madrid, Iker Casillas, has said that he is working hard to cement his place in the starting XI of Madrid again.

The Madrid skipper was surprisingly left out of the starting line up in the recently played La Liga matches against Real Sociedad and Malaga. He was replaced by Antonio Adan in the starting XI.
When asked about him being dropped from the starting XI, Casillas said, “Sometimes, you need something like this to give you a bit more inspiration. I need to take it in a positive way and work hard to make a comeback. That’s what I am doing at the moment. I am working hard in the training sessions and trying to improve my weaknesses.”

Last week, the, manager of Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho had said that no player in the team should take his place in the starting XI for granted.

When asked about Mourinho’s statement, Casillas said, “I am not upset about what Mourinho said. He was absolutely right. No matter how big a player you are, you need to be consistent, otherwise, you would have to sit on the bench.”

“My form hadn’t been that good in the last few matches and that’s why I was left out of the staring XI. What I need to do now is to train hard and convince the manager to give me starting opportunity again.

When asked about his relationship with Antonio Adan, Casillas said, “There is a competition between me and Antonio for the keeper’s place in the XI, but, that has not affected our relationship at all. We are very good friends and often talk to each other about goalkeeping skills. He is a great bloke and a very good goalkeeper as well.”