'Won't be here for 10 years'

After being named French coach of the year for the second consecutive year by magazine France Football, Real Madrid's Zinedine Zidane sat down for an interview and admitted that he would not stay at the Bernabeu dugout for the rest of the his career.

Although the Frenchman said that that his status as a Los Blancos legend would work in his favour, he added that the Zidane of the past -- the player -- 'no longer exists'.

"Zinedine Zidane isn't a player at Real Madrid anymore. That Zidane no longer exists. Now it's down to Zinedine Zidane the coach to carve out a career. I'm not protected by what I've done as a player at this club.

"I know that one day it [the coach's job] will come to an end at Real Madrid, so I make the most of it and I do everything I can to be successful. I say to myself: 'If I've got 10 days left here, then I'm going to live those 10 days to the max; if it's six months, I'll live those six months to the max.' I don't think beyond that. I know I won't stay [in the job] for 10 years."

The 45-year-old added that he relished adversity, an encouraging sign for fans of the club who are 16 points behind archrivals Barcelona in La Liga.

"I want to show that I can also be a good coach when the going gets tough. Difficulties don't frighten me; I'm ready for that. People might think that everything comes easy to me, that I do it all by instinct, but they'd be wrong. Be it as a player or as a coach, I've always worked hard."