Spain captain Raul is confident he can put the disappointment of a miserable season at Real Madrid behind him and lead his side to success at Euro 2004.

"It has been a very long season, I've played lots of games and I haven't been in the best of form," the 26-year-old striker told Spanish sports daily Marca on Thursday.

"But physically I am in good shape and mentally I feel very strong. Difficult situations like this only make me more determined and this is when you can really show people what you are made of."

Real lost their last five matches to end the season without a trophy for the first time in five years but Raul, who is Spain's all-time leading scorer with 38 goals, said that he is now keen to start afresh with the national team.

"It is important to really feel proud of the shirt, the feeling that you get when you play for your country. For me it is the best feeling of all.

"I've played 71 games for Spain and I want to play another seven and by that I mean the (friendly) game against Andorra and six more at Euro 2004.

"Ever since I was a child I have had a strong allegiance to the national team. Now I want Spain to be like Brazil, Argentina, Italy and France and know what it is like to win a big tournament with the national team."

Spain's only two real successes at the European championship were when they won the tournament 40 years ago and reached the final again in 1984.

Despite having an impressive record of qualification of major championships they have consistently under-performed when in the tournaments themselves.

Spain have been drawn in Group A of Euro 2004 alongside hosts Portugal, Greece and Russia. They open their campaign against Russia on June 12.