Vicente del Bosque has defended Spain's recent performances, while insisting revenge is not a motivating factor in Tuesday's friendly against Netherlands.
Spain's last meeting with the Dutch ended in an embarrassing 5-1 defeat at the 2014 World Cup.
Head coach Del Bosque has since overseen a rebuilding process with Spain winning four of their five Euro 2016 qualifying matches - including a hard-fought 1-0 win over Ukraine last Friday.
Spain have been criticised for their style of play at times, but Del Bosque insists the team are moving in the right direction.
"I am not thirsting for revenge against the Netherlands," he said ahead of the contest at the Amsterdam Arena.
"The Netherlands have been on the podium in the last two World Cups and Spain, who have dominated during recent years, are giving the impression of having dipped in the last few months.
"In that dip, though, we have scored 14 goals and conceded three. We have played 31 games in four series of qualifiers with a balance of 28 wins, two draws and one defeat. I don't think that is bad.
"Although I recognise that after the World Cup we haven't played well, I can see good things. We are going in the right direction.
"In the past, we used to get positive criticism, now the emphasis in on all of the negative aspects. When the criticism is unanimous, maybe they're right."