Gian Piero Gasperini and director Luca Percassi are fairly confident that Atalanta will continue together with their coach, but first need to discuss their plans. ‘I will always be grateful.’
They knew that they had to get a better result than Fiorentina this evening to grab seventh place and qualify for the Conference League play-offs, but the Viola beat Juventus 2-0, while La Dea lost 1-0 at home to Empoli.
It means Atalanta are for the first time under Gasperini’s six-year tenure not going to be in Europe, setting their worst points tally in Serie A with this coach of just 59 points.
“This was a season of two sides, the first half was positive, even if we still have regrets at not reaching the Champions League Round of 16. In the second half of the season we lacked results, but not the performances,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.
“Unfortunately, this match tonight is a reflection of what we saw in that second half of the season, creating lots of chances and not converting them.”
His future at the club is up in the air, especially now that Atalanta are co-owned by American investor Stephen Pagliuca.
“I am very fond of this extraordinary city and club. Now we need to sit down and talk, because so far we haven’t had time to do that.
“There have been changes in the club hierarchy with the arrival of new people, so we need to discuss our ideas and see what to do.
“I will always be grateful to this club. If they want us to go our separate ways, I will accept that without complaint. The most important thing is to be on the same page and agree on what we need to do next. The last 20-odd games of the season have to give us pause for thought.
“If we see things the same way, then we can start again with new motivation and new plans.”
Atalanta director Luca Percassi seemed confident telling DAZN that the club had faith in Gasperini.
“We will 100 per cent continue with Gasperini. We must focus on doing the simple things first and remember the motto my father always looks to going into the new season: First and foremost, get 40 points to secure Serie A safety. After that, anything is positive.”
#Atalanta, #Percassi su #Gasperini: “Resta al 100%”https://t.co/ArbObWuQ5B
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) May 21, 2022