Resino determined for Atletico revival

Atletico Madrid coach Abel Resino remains confident he can turn around the ailing Spanish giants’ dismal start to the season despite suffering yet another setback on Wednesday night.

Atletico’s hopes of progressing out of their Champions League group received a further blow when they were defeated 2-0 at Porto, having already been held to a goalless draw at home by Apoel Nicosia.

The Roijblancos’ league form has also been a concern, with just three points earned from a possible 15 so far, and they will go into this weekend’s home match against Real Zaragoza stuck in the relegation zone.

Few at Atletico would have envisaged such a bad start to the season, especially as they look on paper to have a stronger squad than the one that finished fourth last season, but the pressure is now on for Resino to find a solution.

The former Atletico goalkeeper believes he can do just that though, saying: “I’ve always considered myself to be capable of lifting the team out of the current situation.

“Football is a mental state. I think that the team showed their effort throughout the entire match (against Porto).”

Porto, who knocked Atletico out of last season’s Champions League in the first knockout round, defeated their Spanish neighbours last night thanks to goals in the final 15 minutes from Falcao and Rolando.

“I think it was a pretty even match until Porto scored their first goal,” said Resino.

“We knew that whichever team got the first goal would have an advantage, and unfortunately for us they scored first.

“We didn’t count on drawing against Apoel and anything could have happened against Porto. We have to keep fighting and believing in what we’re doing.”