Carlo Ancelotti has refused to enter into "a debate" with critics over why Real Madrid crashed to a 5-2 defeat to Barcelona in Sunday's Spanish Supercopa final.
The second-straight thumping by fierce rivals Barça, following their 4-0 league loss in October, has led to a wave of second-guessing of Ancelotti's tactics and his players' commitment.
Speaking ahead of Thursday's Copa del Rey round of 16 home game against Celta Vigo, Ancelotti said: "This is a press conference and not a debate. I've already done the debate with my technical staff and my players to find the best solutions possible.
"I don't think this is the right place to open a debate. I don't follow the wave of criticism, that one day you are the best and the next your are the dumbest. Fortunately, thanks to my experience, I have balance. I don't think I'm the best but I don't think I'm the dumbest, either."
Ancelotti believes there is no need for an overreaction with Madrid just one point behind LaLiga leaders Atlético Madrid and still alive in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
"It was a step back but we have to look ahead because we are still in a good position in every competition," he said. "It hurt us a lot but it didn't sink us.
"Obviously it was a bad game, we made a ton of mistakes. We analysed it, evaluated it and found solutions. A month ago we won the [FIFA] Club world Cup and six months ago we won the Champions League.
"We are competing. We lost one game, it was a final, it hurt but we've won many finals. It was a heavy loss but it was just one game. We are doing well in every competition and we are going to continue fighting."
Ancelotti has not lost confidence in his players despite the poor showing against Barça, who claimed a big win despite having goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny sent off in the 56th minute.
"All my players have my full backing, especially those that are not showing their best form right now," he said.
One player that has found good form after struggling to adapt to Los Blancos is Kylian Mbappé.
Mbappé, who scored on Sunday, has found the net 14 times in all competitions this season since joining the Spanish giants in the summer as a free agent after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired.
"He needed time to adapt to the team to show his best form physically," Ancelotti said of the France star.
"Now he is in his best form and the team has to take advantage of that."
Ancelotti expects a strong response from his players on Thursday.
"I think I'm going to play the strongest team possible," he said. "It's an important opportunity to bounce back from the bad game that we had. We need to keep moving forward starting with Thursday's game."