Lazio Coach Stefano Pioli insists he has “great support” from the club, despite a difficult start to the season.
The Biancocelesti were eliminated in the Champions League play-off round by Bayer Leverkusen, and have conceded nine goals in their last two Serie A away games.
Such a poor start has led to speculation over the tactician’s future, but the Aquile boss insists he still has the support of the club.
“I have great support,” Pioli insisted in his Press conference ahead of the clash with Genoa.
Lazio Coach Stefano Pioli insists he has “great support” from the club, despite a difficult start to the season.
The Biancocelesti were eliminated in the Champions League play-off round by Bayer Leverkusen, and have conceded nine goals in their last two Serie A away games.
Such a poor start has led to speculation over the tactician’s future, but the Aquile boss insists he still has the support of the club.
“I have great support,” Pioli insisted in his Press conference ahead of the clash with Genoa.
“The club knows how I work, and that I’m working very hard to resolve the situation. Of course, the players and I are hurting. We can do better.
“In our three home games we’ve done well, though we didn’t play like last year. Apart from the Dnipro match [in the Europa League] we’ve struggled in the away games.
“We have to rely on our mentality. I’m behind my players, I believe in my team. I know these players, and they have technical and personal quality.
“We’re in difficulty, but we have the ability to get out of this together.
“We haven’t changed much, but there have been unexpected injuries. We have a busy fixture list, which has forced me to make a lot of changes.
“Expectations have also changed, and all these things have contributed, but I know that in football you have no time.
“We have to immediately change course, we can’t be like we were on Sunday. I take responsibility, we all do. We have to get through this bad patch.”
Some of the star players from last season have not performed as they did in the last campaign, does Pioli feel let down?
“I want to clarify one thing – I don’t feel betrayed by my players. They know their value, and they’re not satisfied. But the responsibility is mine first and foremost.
“Felipe Anderson? Felipe is a player for whom I have great respect and trust, but we play every three days, I have to make changes.
“It’s wrong to focus on a single player. The whole team has problems away from home, we’re not ready yet. We’re not at 100 per cent, but we have to get there quickly.
“We’ve had a lot of games, we’ve had injuries and suspensions, but the team has to work better.”
The Biancocelesti’s difficult start to the season has seen the fans express their discontent, but the Coach does not blame them.
“I think our fans are special,” Pioli said.
“They praised us when we deserved it, and now clearly they’re criticising us. The performances so far have shown we’ve not been up to it.
“I’ll tell the fans that tomorrow they’ll see a team worthy of wearing this shirt.”