Delneri blames injuries for loss

Juventus manager Luigi Delneri has blamed injuries for his side’s failure to beat Chievo in the Serie A on Monday.

The Bianconeri drew 2-2 at home to leave them three points shy of sixth – and a Europa League spot for next campaign – with two games remaining.

Delneri said Juve’s lengthy injury list was coming back to bite them on matchday.

“We are having difficulties in many areas. We are having difficulties recovering players who have been injured for long periods and nobody seems even to remember where they are,” Delneri said.

“They’ve been out for so long. Nobody is saying this, nobody is saying that (Fabio) Quagliarella, (Vincenzo) Iaquinta, (Felipe) Melo, (Paolo) De Ceglie and (Mohamed) Sissoko are still injured.”

“The players on the pitch have to play often and they are incredibly stressed. Today, there were seven players who weren’t at Juventus last year, players who played in teams where the tension was different, where winning a game was much more important.”

Despite Juve’s poor finish to the season, general manager Giuseppe Marotta maintained his support of the club’s 60-year-old boss.

“Our technical plan will continue, as for what Delneri declared, he is right because his contract expires in 2012, so it’s right if he talks about his future at Juventus,” Marotta said.

“We don’t want to go any further, we will be more explicit next week when we are going to explain our future programme and after the board of directors meet later in the week.”

“The supporters have the right to express their opinion, as it is right for us to make our considerations first. We will communicate our future programmes as soon as possible.”