Spanish media reported on Sunday that club president Florentino Perez, director of football Arrigo Sacchi and other members of the board met after Saturday's game to discuss looking for a replacement.

The coach of reserve team Real Madrid Castilla, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, was being put forward as a possible stop-gap appointment until the end of the season when a more recognised figure could be lured to Madrid.

Luxemburgo was appointed in December 2004 to replace Mariano Garcia Remon and is the fifth coach to have run the team in two and a half years.

Vicente del Bosque was sacked in 2003 and replaced by Alex Ferguson's number two at Manchester United, Carlos Queiroz.

Former Spain coach Jose Antonio Camacho was brought in at the start of the 2004 season but walked out after three league games to leave his assistant Garcia Remon holding the reigns.

Real have not won a major trophy since Del Bosque steered them to their last league title in 2003.

Luxemburgo impressed in his first few months in charge and steered Real to a second place finish last season, four points behind champions Barcelona.

The club invested around 90 million euros (105 million dollars) in new players during the close season to bring in highly-rated Brazilian forwards Robinho and Julio Baptista and Spain defender Sergio Ramos among others.

Injuries to key players have not helped Real's progress this season, but more than anything it is the side's lack of flair that has caused consternation.

The 3-0 home defeat to arch-rivals Barcelona just over two weeks ago ended with the Bernabeu fans applauding the opposition and whistling the home players.

Saturday's narrow victory over modest local rivals Getafe, which was not helped by David Beckham's second half dismissal, did little to appease the fans.

Real are fourth in the Primera Liga with 25 points from 14 games, three behind leaders Barcelona who were playing at Villarreal on Sunday while second-placed Osasuna travelled to face Malaga.