Jose Mourinho claims he has "considered staying on" as Real Madrid coach

Jose Mourinho claims he has "considered staying on" as Real Madrid coach and defended himself against Pepe's belief that he should show club captain Iker Casillas more respect.

He also defended his decision to make Lopez his number one ahead of Casillas. "I like Diego Lopez more as a goalkeeper than Casillas. It's simple - it's not a personal decision. I like a goalkeeper who can play well with his feet, who is good in the air and who is a phenomenon between the posts. "I like a different profile of goalkeeper, in the same way that Casillas might say he prefers a coach in the style of (Spain coach Vicente) Del Bosque. "While I am the coach of Real Madrid, Diego Lopez will play, in normal circumstances. It's simple. "I accept that people may say I know nothing about football because of that decision, but I say respect a coach who decides to play Diego Lopez. I'm the coach. It is my decision." Mourinho admitted that this season "could have been better", with the capital club on the verge of relinquishing the title to arch rivals Barcelona, but said he wants Madrid to finish second - an objective they will be closer to achieving if they beat Malaga tomorrow. "We want to finish second," he said. "Second is not enough but it's the only target we can have. We still need some points and we have to try and win the match to finish second as soon as we can. "On the other side we have a very good team that is coming to create us problems, like they always do. They are a good defensive team that play well on the counter-attack. If you do not play them seriously or in the best possible way, it's possible to lose." Former Madrid boss Manuel Pellegrini does not think the uncertainty surrounding Mourinho's future will make it any easier for his side. "There are always internal problems that affect teams, that can happen to Madrid or to us. But it's wrong to think we can win because the other team has problems," he told reporters. If Madrid fail to win, Barcelona will become Primera Division champions, but Pellegrini, who was sacked by Madrid after just a year in charge and succeeded by Mourinho, said that revenge was not on his mind. "We want to get points regardless of what other people say. We want to keep gaining points and climbing the table. "I want my team to play like a great team. We have a system and philosophy of how to play. Madrid won't go out to play thinking about their problems, they'll be thinking about the responsibility they have for their club."