Carlo Ancelotti said he does not believe his future at Real Madrid is dependent on the result of the upcoming Champions League quarterfinal with Atletico Madrid.
Ancelotti's future has been the subject of regular speculation in the Spanish media since the turn of the year, with the European champions having struggled for consistency after winning the Club World Cup in December.
Asked ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarterfinal first leg at the Calderon whether his future was dependent on securing progress, Ancelotti told a news conference: "I don't think so.
"It depends on the work carried out over a season, and this game simply forms a part of the season. I feel the time to judge my performance is at the end of the campaign and not now."
Real beat Atletico 4-1 in the final of last season's competition, but they have otherwise struggled against their neighbours in recent times, losing three and drawing one of their last four La Liga clashes as well as exiting the Copa del Rey to Diego Simeone's men in January.
Atletico also beat Real to the Spanish Super Cup at the start of the season, and Ancelotti is under pressure to oversee an improved performance this time around.
Asked if he was able to identify the reasons for Real's recent derby struggles, he said: "Every match has its own problems and every match brings different ideas. Each defeat was different. One was because of dead balls, the last one because of an attitude that wasn't so good.
"It's difficult to say what has gone wrong. We've evaluated it and this is another tie over two matches."
Atletico beat Real 4-0 in February, but Ancelotti said: "We come into this match in good shape. It's nothing like February. We're fresh and we can play with intensity and at a high tempo. Personality and courage are very important and this team has that."
He added: "We're not obsessed with Atletico. We are obsessed with getting through to the semifinals of the competition. Our objective is not to eliminate Atleti but to win our 11th European Cup."
He said he felt his side had a 50/50 chance of progressing but warned that Atleti are "a tricky rival, a strong team defensively and a team we have maximum respect for. They battle from the first minute."
Ancelotti also said that Gareth Bale, who returned to training at the weekend after missing Saturday's 3-0 win over Eibar, should be available.
"He's in good shape, as is the whole squad," he said. "Everyone is in the match squad. Tomorrow I'll decide the lineup and the substitutes. I'm lucky to have everyone for such an important match. We have to use our individual quality and all our weapons, to play with pace and speed and attack.
"If Bale isn't at 100 percent, he won't play. I have a really fresh squad and if one player isn't at 100 percent he won't play, but Bale is at 100 percent. Bale had a fantastic season last year. He scored in both [the Copa del Rey and Champions League] finals. We hope to play finals in the next months and he will be important, just like last year. The key is to have a compact team."