Iñigo Pérez insists he feels no fear of losing his job at Villarreal, despite heavy self-criticism after Sunday's 1-2 home defeat by Real Betis, as he prepared his side for Wednesday's trip to face Målaga.
The Navarrese coach, whose side sit in the relegation zone after a difficult start, said his frank assessment of the defeat was deliberate accountability rather than panic.
"I'm doing really well. I'm in full spirits, with the same enthusiasm and excitement as the first day," PĂ©rez said. "The press conference the other day happened because I believe that if you don't take responsibility and hold yourself to account, if you don't address it, it ends up becoming a pattern of behaviour.
"I have to be critical of myself. If I'm sitting here, it's because I must have done things well, but I'm not going to bury myself.
"A few hours of sporting mourning, but with my enthusiasm fully intact."
PĂ©rez said the root of Villarreal's slow start was psychological rather than tactical, pointing to a promising pre-season that has not translated into results.
"It's something more mental than even physical or tactical, although those elements exist too," he said. "In any unexpected scenario, in phases of the game where everything pointed to optimism, when we've hit a setback, we've lost control and lacked the order we'd had up to that point."
Asked about potential tactical changes, PĂ©rez was clear that his side's underlying identity would not shift.
"There will certainly be tactical situations to change. Against Dortmund we decided to load the midfield, because of the type of players they had. Those decisions will always be there, but they have nothing to do with the style. Wanting to press, for example, shouldn't change â it's the way I know how to convey football. What I do need to change is not tinkering in the second half. We have a tendency to retreat into our own box after dominating and scoring, and in the second half you crack, and that's when the anxiety creeps in."
On his own position, PĂ©rez said the club's backing had not wavered.
"The club, in every sense, especially now in this weaker moment results-wise, I see the same way of talking to me and supporting me. They're as close as they were on day one," he said. "I don't know if it's a weakness or a virtue, but I have no fear of being sacked. A coach knows this can happen; it's like memento mori. We accept it and work to stay together for many years."
Looking ahead to MĂĄlaga, PĂ©rez described a contest between two sides fighting relegation early in the campaign.
"It's a match of certainties between two teams in the drop zone, both desperate for a win, and we're stepping into a mental battleground. Whichever side controls its composure better will be closer to victory," he said. "There will surely be changes. The gap between one player and another isn't big, which will force us to use everyone. That's part of my tendency."