Juve chief confirms Ranieri will stay

Juventus general manager Jean Claude Blanc moved to dampen speculation surrounding the future of coach Claudio Ranieri by claiming that the former Chelsea and Valencia boss would stay at the club next season.

Blanc was responding to a report in Wednesday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport claiming that Ranieri had only a 30 percent chance of remaining in his job next season.

“Ranieri is our coach and whatever results we achieve this season, he will be next season as well,” said Blanc at the launch of a new partnership deal with Sony Ericsson.

Second-placed Juve are virtually out of the Serie A title race following Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Genoa that left them 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan with just seven matches left.

“Ten points is a lot but the mathematics determine that we’re still in the race,” added Blanc.

“We have our feet on the ground but our aim is to keep fighting until the last minute. We’re confident and focussed.”