Monday, October 6 2008 -- Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli has made it clear that coach Claudio Ranieri is staying on at the club even though press reports have suggested otherwise.

Ranieri came under severe criticism in the weekend when Juventus lost their first match of the Italian Serie A to Palermo away from home. Indifferent performances in the UEFA Champions League and weird tactics have made Juve's start to the 2008-2009 campaign far from spectacular and there have been intense reports in the Italian and European press suggesting that Ranieri shall be sacked should Juve lose this weekend.

Which they did and the press reports that the former Chelsea boss was about to leave Turin resurfaced but the Italian giants have been quick to react. Club president Gigli said that they still had faith in the Italian and that no one is thinking about getting rid of Ranieri.

He said:

"There is no doubt about Ranieri. The club, in particular CEO (Jean-Claude) Blanc and sporting director (Alessio) Secco, have never had any problems with Ranieri."

Ranieri was appointed the coach of Juventus in the summer of 2007 and led Juve to a top four finish in the Italian Serie A last season. But there are many who still believe that Ranieri shall get the sack if performances don't improve and if results don't follow.