Benitez: It will be difficult to improve Real Madrid squad
New Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez believes it will be "enormously difficult" to improve his current set of players in the summer transfer window.
The Blancos went without La Liga, the Copa del Rey or the Champions League last season, costing Carlo Ancelotti his job as head coach, but the same team also enjoyed a 22-game win streak in the latter half of 2014.
Although the former Liverpool and Valencia boss – who departed Napoli for the job at the Santiago Bernabeu, where he started his career – suggested arrivals are on the horizon, he tempered expectations of a spending spree by stressing how strong Madrid's team already is.
"Of course there will there be new faces," he told the club's official website. "Danilo [already signed from Porto] and Casemiro [returning from year-long loan at the Dragao], for example, are players who are going to be important.
"The club works every day to try to raise the level of this team with some incorporation to help us meet the challenges, but let me tell you that improving the current squad of Real Madrid is enormously difficult.
"This team has won everything and has shown the level they can reach. Fans can be assured that this foundation will have the level of competitiveness that is required of this club."
Big Blancos names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Raphael Varane have all been linked with following Ancelotti out the capital club's exit door.
However, Benitez stressed he has spoken to all of the players and they are looking forward to working under him, with nobody demanding to play in a certain position in the upcoming campaign.
"From the first moment I arrived, my staff and I contacted the players. They have all shown a willingness to work with me - Sergio, Iker, Cristiano, Bale, Pepe, Varane. In short, all of them have been excellent," the coach continued.
"The first thing I did was listen, to know what went right or wrong last season, to understand their feelings. Once we're together in pre-season I will decide what's best for the team and for each of the players.
"As for who will play and where, as I said, we have to be together, train together and then I'll decide. Iker, Sergio, Cristiano, Isco, Bale... Contrary to what is said in some media outlets, no 'demands' have been made to play here or there.
"Not least because we must still decide the best tactical system to try to maximise the potential of each player. They have to be comfortable on the field so they can give the best of themselves."
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