Preziosi considering Del Neri U-turn

Genoa president Enrico Preziosi is considering recalling Luigi Del Neri to the Rossoblu hotseat for the 2013-14 campaign, despite watching current coach Davide Ballardini secure survival in Serie A on Sunday.

A dismal start to the season left Genoa struggling to leave the bottom three and Del Neri could not revive the club’s fortunes upon replacing Luigi De Canio in October, instead losing nine of his 13 games in charge.

His dismissal in January paved the way for Ballardini’s return to the club and he steadily steered Genoa out of the relegation zone before earning the point needed from Sunday’s goalless draw with Inter to send Siena and Palermo down with Pescara.

Nevertheless, Preziosi is considering taking advantage of Del Neri’s existing year-long contract by restoring the former Juventus boss to the bench at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

He said: “Ballardini does not have a contract with us, Del Neri does. And Del Neri is a good coach.

“I can’t deny that I’m thinking about him, because he is great when working with teams from the very beginning of the season. I never thought we would be relegated to Serie B, although when you lose nine games, fear can take over.”

When questioned how he could consider reappointing a coach who had lost the Marassi dressing room by claiming only six points from the 39 available to him, Preziosi was defiant.

“I’m sick of hearing about my record as a trigger-happy boss,” he added. “The change of coach was determined at the time by the nine defeats and the fact the squad no longer believed in him.

“If a coach driver veers off the road nine times you don’t just take away his licence, but the people don’t get back on his coach any more.”