Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has told his club's supporters not to be "frightened or alarmed" despite a difficult few weeks for the Madrid giants.

Atletico have lost four of their last seven in Spain's top flight, with Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Villarreal leaving Diego Simeone's side in sixth position in La Liga, some 12 points behind the leaders Real Madrid.

Cerezo, however, has insisted that Atletico "have a better team" than last season and will return to their top form in the coming months.

"There is no reason to be frightened or alarmed," Cerezo told Cadena Cope. "I believe we have a better team than we had last season, and I've seen in previous campaigns situations where teams that trailed by more points almost went on to win the league."

Atletico will attempt to return to winning ways in the league when they host Las Palmas on Saturday afternoon.