Chievo turn to Di Carlo

Serie A strugglers Chievo have appointed Domenico Di Carlo as their new coach after sacking Giuseppe Iachini.

The Verona-based side decided to axe Iachini on Tuesday in the wake of a 3-0 defeat against Palermo that left them in the Serie A relegation zone.

Chievo, who have won only one of their first ten games of the season, confirmed in a statement on their official website: "AC Chievo Verona would like to communicate that Giuseppe Iachini has been relieved of his coaching duties.

"The club would like to thank the coach for all his hard work and for the results he achieved last season as well as his professionalism and dedication.

"We would also like to confirm that the first-team will now be coached by Domenico Di Carlo."

Di Carlo said after being confirmed in his new role: "There will not be a lot of time to acclimatise, especially given the situation in the league.

"There are still 28 games to reach the fateful 40 points around which safety lies."

Newly-installed Bologna head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic is confident that he can guide his side away from the threat of relegation from Serie A.

Mihajlovic replaced Daniele Arrigoni on Monday after Bologna were thrashed 5-1 at Cagliari and the former Internazionale number two is upbeat about the coming months.

He told the Italian media: "I am convinced that this team has the potential to get out of this situation.

"We need to work on the psychology. It's inevitable that we tend to lose confidence in these difficult moments, but the players have to be convinced of their own means.

"Everybody begins with little experience and I understand the scepticism of the fans, but this doesn't frighten me. Scepticism comes and goes away."

Meanwhile, AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was elated after seeing his side turn around a miserable recent run of form with a 3-1 Champions League win at home to Chelsea.

A Mirko Vucinic double led Spalletti’s men to a well-deserved victory, after Christian Panucci had broken the deadlock in the Stadio Olimpico.

Spalletti said: "It's a result that gives us a breather and some calmness. My players have been exceptional.

"They have shown a great spirit that we had not shown for some time. This is an important win for us and we deserved it.

"My players followed my tactics, something which they had not done in recent games."