Valencia midfielder David Silva has leapt to the defence of under-fire coach Ronald Koeman ahead of this weekend's crucial trip to Real Murcia.Koeman has had a turbulent first five months in charge of Los Che, and although he has taken the club to the final of the Copa del Rey they are also in serious danger of being sucked into the relegation battle in the Primera Liga.

The 2002 and 2004 Spanish champions have won only four of their 19 league matches since Koeman took the reins, losing nine, and that run has left them just six points above the drop zone.

Koeman appeared to have earned himself some breathing space following back-to-back 3-2 wins over Barcelona and Real Madrid recently, but last weekend's 3-0 home mauling by Real Mallorca undid a lot of that good work.

Nevertheless, Spain international Silva insists the players are behind the beleaguered Dutchman, saying: "The changing room would die for the coach."

Koeman's future could rest on the outcome of their Copa del Rey final against Getafe on April 16, but before then Valencia face potential crucial league matches against Murcia and Racing Santander.

Both opponents still have plenty to fight for, with second-bottom Murcia hoping to escape the drop and fifth-placed Racing chasing a Champions League spot.

"They are very important games," said Valencia defender Raul Albiol.

"We hope to pick up a good result in Murcia and do the same against Racing before going on to win the cup, which is something that could give us a bit of joy until the end of the season.

"I am only thinking of Murcia at the moment and relegation has not gone through my mind. I am only thinking of obtaining the maximum number of points that we can to get up the table."

He added: "We are not so bad that we cannot win any of the eight games that remain."

Marco Caneira is back in training for Valencia and could play at the Nueva Condomina, but David Villa, Vicente and Hedwiges Maduro are all set to remain sidelined.

Meanwhile, experienced trio Santiago Canizares, David Albelda and Miguel Angel Angulo have remained frozen out by Koeman since December.

While Valencia's relegation concerns are largely only hypothetical at present, Murcia's are very real indeed.

The promoted side had hoped for a revival under new coach Javier Clemente following their 4-0 thrashing of Espanyol two weeks ago, but they slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Deportivo La Coruna last Sunday and are now seven points from safety.

With 10 defeats in their last 12 league matches, Murcia goalkeeper Fabian Carini admits his side's chances of survival are now slim.

"It is getting harder all the time, but we must believe we can still stay up," he said.

"Although the situation is not easy, there are still games remaining and points to play for, and until we are mathematically down, nobody can give up or throw in the towel."

Murcia could be without former Valencia defender Curro Torres, Fernando Baiano, Francisco Gallardo and Pablo Garcia for Sunday's game.

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