Spalletti denies Juventus resignation report: ‘Never crossed my mind’

Luciano Spalletti hit back at reports he was planning to resign if Juventus failed to qualify for the Champions League. ‘It never crossed my mind.’

The Derby della Mole kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).

Even a victory against rivals Torino might not be sufficient to secure a top four finish and Champions League qualification, because if both Roma and Milan also win tomorrow, then they’ll still be at best in fifth.

There were reports this week that Spalletti had even been prepared to hand in his resignation if he failed to achieve ticket to the biggest UEFA tournament, so he was asked about that in his press conference this evening.

“It never crossed my mind,” assured the coach.

“First there was all the talk about the new contract, then immediately after that they turn to resignations, you just throw every possible adjective at me. If anything crossed my mind after a result like that, it was putting myself at the disposal of the club should it want to make a change, but I never asked to speak with anyone.

“We meet with the club every week, at this moment even more often, because we are planning the future. However, the journey must be consistent, whatever happens. You cannot let one incident drag you down into conclusions that have no connection to reality.

“We must use our heads and if anything be even more motivated to overturn what happened, because bumps in the road can happen, it’s how you get back on track. It’s the mentality that makes the difference.

“There isn’t much time left to fix things. We must have the intelligence to see things in a balanced way and take the right action for the future. That is fundamental.”

Juventus had been in the strongest position for that top four finish, until the shock 2-0 home defeat to Fiorentina allowed Roma and Milan to overtake them.

There are also reports that Spalletti has clashed with CEO Damien Comolli, but he denies setting demands if he is to stay on.

“My future doesn’t depend on anything, planning means the courage to look beyond the result,” replied the coach.

“There is always a project behind it, laying the foundations for the future, trying to build and that doesn’t change because of one or two points difference.

“We want to create the possibility to challenge for something important, whether we are in the Champions League or not after this match. We’re sad about the result with Fiorentina, but all we can do tomorrow is win, play better than we did against Fiorentina and give it our all the achieve the result.

“What I expect to see is a performance worthy of this club.”