Palermo's surprising decision to dismiss coach Francesco Guidolin and promote his assistant Renzo Gobbo with five games left to play could yet prove to be a wise one after an upturn of fortunes for the Sicilians.
Gobbo's side stopped the rot by clinching their first win since February in last weekend's 2-1 triumph against Livorno.
The result handed Gobbo the best possible start as caretaker-manager but whether or not the Rossaneri have left their poor run behind them remains to be seen.
Sunday's home encounter against Roma will be a big test for Palermo and it is no surprise that Gobbo is remaining cautious.
"It's not that I have turned the fortunes of the club," he said. "The fact is that we had failed to come out triumphant for a long time and I think the players showed a lot of willingness and character to return to winning ways.
"In football there's little to invent."
The victory allowed the Sicilian giants to remain in the hunt for Champions League football.
The islanders are six points behind fourth-placed Lazio, who hold the last qualifying spot for Europe's elite club competition.
Gobbo's men will need to show the same determination if they want to upset Roma at La Favorita on Sunday.
The Eternal City club travel to the Mediterranean island looking to regain their winning touch.
The Giallorossi have struggled to find their rhythm of late and tiredness is proving a major problem for the squad, who have picked up just one point in their last two encounters.
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was in a sombre mood after his team were held to a goalless draw against Lazio last weekend.
Having lost 7-1 in the Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie against Manchester United earlier this month, and then slipping up against Atalanta to hand the Serie A title to Internazionale, Francesco Totti and Co were eager to make amends to their fans.
However, there were no thrills in the Roman derby.
"I accept the result with disappointment," said Spalletti. "I really thought we could win the derby to give some joy to our fans but it was not to be."
The Eternal City giants will have an added motivation to win, as a positive result will ensure they finish runners-up this season.
However, Spalletti is set to rest Totti for Sunday's game.
Serie A's top scorer, Totti has struggled with a back problem for the last two weeks and his performance against Lazio suggested he has still not recovered full fitness.
Spalletti will be hoping to have Totti available for next week's Coppa Italia final first-leg against Inter, which is the only hope of silverware for the Romans this campaign.
The hosts will be without defender Ciro Capuano and midfielder Roberto Guana, who are struggling with injury.
However, there is optimism at the Palermo camp that they can clinch their first home victory since January 14.
The result handed Gobbo the best possible start as caretaker-manager but whether or not the Rossaneri have left their poor run behind them remains to be seen.
Sunday's home encounter against Roma will be a big test for Palermo and it is no surprise that Gobbo is remaining cautious.
"It's not that I have turned the fortunes of the club," he said. "The fact is that we had failed to come out triumphant for a long time and I think the players showed a lot of willingness and character to return to winning ways.
"In football there's little to invent."
The victory allowed the Sicilian giants to remain in the hunt for Champions League football.
The islanders are six points behind fourth-placed Lazio, who hold the last qualifying spot for Europe's elite club competition.
Gobbo's men will need to show the same determination if they want to upset Roma at La Favorita on Sunday.
The Eternal City club travel to the Mediterranean island looking to regain their winning touch.
The Giallorossi have struggled to find their rhythm of late and tiredness is proving a major problem for the squad, who have picked up just one point in their last two encounters.
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was in a sombre mood after his team were held to a goalless draw against Lazio last weekend.
Having lost 7-1 in the Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie against Manchester United earlier this month, and then slipping up against Atalanta to hand the Serie A title to Internazionale, Francesco Totti and Co were eager to make amends to their fans.
However, there were no thrills in the Roman derby.
"I accept the result with disappointment," said Spalletti. "I really thought we could win the derby to give some joy to our fans but it was not to be."
The Eternal City giants will have an added motivation to win, as a positive result will ensure they finish runners-up this season.
However, Spalletti is set to rest Totti for Sunday's game.
Serie A's top scorer, Totti has struggled with a back problem for the last two weeks and his performance against Lazio suggested he has still not recovered full fitness.
Spalletti will be hoping to have Totti available for next week's Coppa Italia final first-leg against Inter, which is the only hope of silverware for the Romans this campaign.
The hosts will be without defender Ciro Capuano and midfielder Roberto Guana, who are struggling with injury.
However, there is optimism at the Palermo camp that they can clinch their first home victory since January 14.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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