With the Serie A championship now in its straight for home, Palermo are running out of time in their pursuit to avoid relegation.
Last weekend, the Sicilians could only manage a scoreless draw away at Torino and now their winless streak in the league has extended to 13 games (seven draws and six defeats).
Palermo are rock bottom in the standings, level on points with Siena, who started the season with a hefty minus-six point penalty, and Pescara, one of the promoted clubs last season.
These three strugglers are currently five points adrift of fourth-bottom Genoa.
The draw in Torino marked Gian Piero Gasperini’s return to the Palermo hot seat after an absence of less than a month following his sacking on the 23rd day.
During this period, Palermo were coached by Alberto Malesani.
Palermo had started the season with Giuseppe Sannino as the man in charge. The previous campaign he had taken Siena to new heights.
However, the 2012/13 Serie A was only a few weeks old, when Gasperini replaced Sannino.
Gasperini only managed three wins in 20 matches before he was shown the backdoor. The victories came against Chievo (4-1), Sampdoria (2-0) and Catania (3-1).
These outcomes were the side’s only three triumphs to date as Palermo are the only top division side without a win on the road.
Without doubt, the series of changes on the bench, instigated mainly by club chief Maurizio Zamparini, left a negative effect on the fortunes of the team.
Zamparini, 72, has hired no fewer than 43 coaches (and resorted to 35 sackings) in the 25 years that he has been involved in professional football, first as owner of Venezia and since 2002 as major shareholder at Palermo.
Zamparini, who took the reins of the club from Franco Sensi, was the mastermind behind the rise of both Venezia and Palermo from the doldrums of the lower divisions to the top flight.
In 2004/05, Palermo made a much-awaited return to the Serie A after a 31-year absence. That year, Palermo, with Francesco Guidolin as coach, finished sixth and booked a UEFA Cup spot for the first time in their history.
In the early years back with the elite, Palermo were a true force to reckon with. They also had four players – Christian Zaccardo, An-drea Barzagli, Simone Barone and Fabio Grosso – in the World Cup-winning squad of 2006.
Palermo was also the launching pad to the careers of various quality players among whom Luca Toni, Amauri, Javier Pastore, Antonio Nocerino, Salvatore Sirigu and Edinson Cavani.
However, in recent years, Zamparini caught the headlines for turning Palermo into a feeder club by concluding big-money transfers. For instance, Pastore was transferred to Paris SG for a fee in the region of €43 million in 2011.
Despite the transfer departures, Palermo have always done well in Serie A and, occasionally, they also enjoyed a good run in the Coppa Italia. In 2011, Delio Rossi led the southerners to the final but they lost to Inter.
This season Palermo can still count on captain Fabrizio Miccoli, Josip Ilicic, Abel Hernandez and Paulo Dybala, among others.
However, the side still seems to be short of experience.
To turn things round, Palermo have to lift their game by several notches, starting this weekend when they host Siena.
Failure to make home soil count in their remaining five fixtures at the Renzo Barbera stadium could indeed signify the beginning of the end for Zamparini’s club.