WE ARE STILL THE BEST- DEL BOSQUE

Vicente del Bosque has hit back at critics of his Spain side and believes their problems in attack are nothing more than a short-term issue.

Much has been made of the striker-lite system adopted by Spain, with the experimental formation receiving its share of criticism.But the 62-year-old boss is not concerned by his side's apparent dearth of out-and-out forwards and praised Swansea's Michu for an outstanding debut season in the Premier League - despite not selecting him in any of his squads as of yet.

"We have indeed shown some uncertainty in the position of centre forward, but it is also true that the problems have not been very regular," he told sportyou.es.

"Michu should be praised for what he has done in the Premiership. He has had an extraordinary campaign."

Del Bosque also insisted that Iker Casillas' problems at Real Madrid, where Diego Lopez has been preferred in goal, will 'resolve themselves in time', before reflecting on the depth of quality at his disposal.

"The selection issues are a reflection of Spanish football at the moment," he added.

"We have a huge wealth of options, but there may be a pocket of people who are not happy with our extraordinary football at the moment. I think there are reasons to enjoy it at both club and national level."