Uruguayan Diego Lopez was preparing yesterday to take over as Palermo’s fourth coach of the season, and said he was confident he could save the Serie A strugglers from relegation.

Lopez would replace Eugenio Corini who was reported by Italian media to have resigned on Monday after two months at the helm.

“It’s a unique opportunity for me,” Lopez told reporters waiting for him at Palermo airport.

“We know it’s a complicated situation but I believe we can save ourselves. We need to work a lot and speak little.”

Palermo, 19th in the 20-team table, are mired in the danger zone, eleven points adrift of safety.

Palermo’s president Maurizio Zamparini is famous for the speed at which he hires and fires, sometimes reinstating coaches only weeks after they have been fired.

Because it is often not clear whether a coach is considered interim or long term, and because some have been employed several times, there is no clear consensus over how many he has employed since he took over the club in 2002.

Most Italian media put the total at 38 coaches.