Cagliari players refused Ranieri resignation

Claudio Ranieri reveals he told Cagliari players he would resign, but they convinced him to remain and go into a training retreat instead.

The Sardinians are struggling in the relegation zone and lost the last four Serie A games, winning just once in the last five.

Ranieri surprisingly revealed on Friday that he wanted to resign, but players convinced him to have a second thought.

The Italian tactician informed his players about his decision on Sunday, in the aftermath of a 3-1 home loss against Lazio.

“I spoke to the team; they needed an electroshock. I told them I would resign, but the team were against it. They said we should fight and I agreed. I said: ‘Okay, let’s fight to complete this mission.’ After all, the lads asked to go into a training retreat, so they’ll be staying here today.”

Cagliari visit Udinese on Sunday, so they’ll fly to Friuli after a training session on Saturday.

“It will be a tough game, we’ll try to bring a positive result at home,” said Ranieri.

“I am okay, I don’t think that many coaches would have had the team’s support after the meeting we had on Sunday. I was really down, but the players gave me great motivation and they told me that we needed to fight together.”