Real Madrid should focus on the positives from Sunday’s 2-1 La Liga defeat at Barcelona and remember there is still a long way to go until the end of the campaign, according to centre-back Sergio Ramos.

Real’s defeat at the Nou Camp, their third reverse in their last four outings, left them four points behind leaders Barca in second place with 10 games left.

Ramos noted that Real had dominated their arch rivals for much of the match before Luis Suarez settled the contest in Barca’s favour with a superb effort 11 minutes into the second half.

“A defeat is always negative but you can also draw some positive conclusions,” Ramos, one of Real’s club captains, said in an interview with Spanish radio yesterday.

“We lost with our heads held high... because Real Madrid played some good football,” added the Spain international.

“From my point of view the first half was extraordinary. We weren’t able to kill off the game and they punished us at the end.”

Ramos addressed criticism of the team and said it was important the players learned to accept it and used it as a motivation to work harder.

Real said on Monday they had suspended a club member and banned him from their installations pending an inquiry after three men insulted players and struck at least one of their vehicles as they were leaving the training ground on Sunday.

Players including Wales winger Gareth Bale and forward Jese were targeted along with Ancelotti after they arrived back in Madrid from Barcelona.

“The fans have always been critical when we haven’t been performing as we should,” Ramos said.

“There are some players who have complained because they haven’t had the support of the fans but when your public demands more it is because you can give more.

“You have to live with it. You have to respect it whether you like it or not.”

After the international break, Real have La Liga games against Granada, Rayo Vallecano and Eibar before they play at city rivals Atletico Madrid on April 14 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.