Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has offered his support to under fire coach Rafael Benitez following their humiliating 4-0 home El Clasico defeat to Barcelona.

The former Liverpool boss’ position at the Bernabeu had been under scrutiny before the match, with reports in Spain suggesting that members of the Los Blancos squad had requested a change of tactics from the coach prior to Saturday’s defeat.

Spanish international Ramos has refuted those claims and he insists that everyone connected with the club should stick by Benitez as they attempt to end their current struggles.

He said: “We must support Benitez. We never had any meeting with him and we did not ask him to play more attacking against Barcelona.”

Real are now six points behind Luis Enrique’s side in the La Liga standings and they have lost their last two league matches, having slumped to a 3-2 defeat to Sevilla in the previous round of fixtures.

Ramos admits the club’s recent run of form must improve quickly, but he is refusing to single out any individuals for blame following the back-to-back defeats.

He added: “I don’t like to single out any individuals and I don’t want to look for a guilty party. We have to stick together. We have to keep working hard. It is a tough night, a difficult night for all of us.”

Los Blancos will be hoping to return to winning ways when they travel to the Ukraine to take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday and they are available at 1.91 to secure a victory, whilst the hosts are on offer at 3.80 and a draw is 3.60.