Toni Kroos is not giving up on Real Madrid's season just yet.
The 10-time European champions have struggled under Rafael Benitez this season, but remain within striking distance of La Liga leaders and rivals Barcelona, who are two points ahead with a game in hand.
Kroos said that no-one at Madrid was panicking about their season just yet, adding he was feeling fresh after a short break.
"For those of us playing in a foreign league it's always nice to spend a few days with family and friends who we don't get to see every day," Kroos told the club's official website.
"For me, it's important to be able to be with them over this period. But to be honest, football is always at the forefront of my mind; your mind plays a hugely important role in terms of carrying out your job.
"We want to do a lot better - for ourselves and for our fans. We've failed to be at our best at certain points of the season.
"But I’m optimistic. There's some room for improvement and I'm certain we'll get better. We work our socks off every day and the pay off for that hard work will end up being reflected in the results.
"I'm positive that we'll find that consistency that is not only demanded of us by our fans, but that we want too."
Kroos said despite the lacklustre nature of some of Madrid's performance, it was too early to cast judgements on the team.
“We're not even at the halfway point in the league and we performed very well in the Champions League group stage to make the last 16," he said.
"It's too early to be making evaluations. We’re Real Madrid - and being successful is part of our DNA. We're going to fight for everything and will go out to win all our matches."
Madrid return to league action on Wednesday when they take on Real Sociedad.
