Lippi not in line to replace Ranieri at underachieving Roma
Published:Despite Roma’s unexpected poor start to the Serie A season, director Daniele Prade insists that manager Claudio Ranieri is still fully supported.
Ranieri led Roma to second spot in Serie A last season and hopes were high for another campaign challenging Inter for the title, especially after players including Marco Borriello, Adriano and Fabio Simplicio were brought in over the summer.
However, things have not gone as planned as Roma currently sit second from bottom after collecting just two points from their opening four games.
They most recently lost 2-1 away at Brescia and this has led to talks that Ranieri’s time at the club could be numbered.
Rumours suggest that Marcello Lippi could be his replacement, while former AC Milan boss Leonardo is thought to be the chief target of Roma’s potential future buyers.
Although Prade admits Roma have underachieved so far, there are no plans to replace Ranieri.
He said: “There is no situation with Marcello Lippi. We confirm our esteem and friendship for Ranieri.
“It’s true, we are in difficulty. I do not understand why we’ve had this ugly start to the season, we do not sleep at night. The team is better than last year so we do not understand why we’ve started so badly.”
Roma have drifted out to 14/1 to win Serie A and their task of getting their season back on track is not going to get any easier as they host reigning champions Inter next.
Ranieri’s team are 23/10 to beat Inter and win their first game of the season, while the visitors are 6/5 to build on their solid start which has seen them take ten points from their four games and sit atop Serie A.
Inter are the favourites to win Serie A at 8/15. See the whole Serie A betting odds market.
