Atletico Madrid president appeals for patience

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo on Monday urged fans to be “patient” after the club’s disastrous start to the season which has left it in the relegation zone after just 11 matches.

“We must be patient and start to win. We only have seven points, it is not normal. I hope that we will get out of this complicated crisis,” he said.

Atletico came fourth in La Liga last season to reach the Champions League but this season their form has been dismal and they have had their worst start to a season in 56 years.

The club has already been eliminated from the Champions League and currently lies third from bottom of the league table, just one point off basement side Malaga.

It has the worst defence in the Spanish league, having conceded 24 goals this season.

The club’s two star strikers, Argentina’s Sergio “Kun” Aguero – Diego Maradona’ s son-in-law – and Uruguay’s Diego Forlan, the Spanish league’s top-scorer last season with 32 goals, appeared to have lost their confidence.

And the dismissal at the end of October of Abel Resino as Atletico’s coach and his replacement by Enrico Sanchez Flores, a former Spanish international who has previously been in charge of Getafe and Valencia, has failed to give the club the expected boost it badly needs.

Deportivo La Coruna’s 2-1 win over Atletico over the weekend thanks to a controversial injury time penalty has deepened the pessimism swirling around the club.

Club officials have been criticised for not bringing in new players before the start to the season and they may take advantage of the winter transfer period to bring in new blood.

According to AS, Atletico is planning to sell its French striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle, who has struggled to find his place at the club and who has sparked interest from several French and English sides.

Atletico visit APOEL Nicosia in the Champions League on Wednesday. The club lie third in Group D, behind already qualified Chelsea and Porto, and need a win over the Cypriots to claim a place in the Europa League.

“Our immediate objectives are clear. We must beat APOEL, then Espanyol and Xerez. The solution is to win and the players know it. They have the feeling that things aren’t going right, and they don’t like it,” said Cerezo.

“We must look forwards and get out of this bad moment as soon as possible.”