Defiant Garcia refuses to resign despite Roma slump

Rudi Garcia insists he will not resign as Roma head coach despite a damaging run of results.

The injury-ravaged capital club were beaten 2-0 at home by Atalanta in an ill-tempered clash on Saturday, meaning they could be six points off the top of the table should Inter defeat Napoli on Monday, and Garcia was booed by a large number of home fans prior to kick-off.

That defeat followed a humbling 6-1 thrashing by Barcelona in the Champions League and a draw with Bologna on November 21, but Garcia is determined to stay at the Stadio Olimpico.

“I won’t give in,” he is quoted by Corriere dello Sport. “I’m angry, disappointed, and we have to fight to get out of this situation. 

“We must stay united, the boys can’t lose confidence. We can still be the same Roma with the best attack in Serie A. 

“I will fight, I’ll give my whole heart for Roma. Whoever thinks I’ll resign doesn’t know me.

“It’s not the worst time since I’ve been here, even last season there was a difficult period. Our goals are still within reach – to progress from the Champions League group and stay in the upper reaches of the table.

“I take responsibility but we must remain united to overcome this. I’m sure the sky is blue behind the clouds.

“We’re all disappointed and angry about the performance, we’re all responsible. If we recover our injured players then we’ll be stronger, but this is not an excuse.”

Director of football Walter Sabatini has lent his support to Garcia and believes the whole club must rally together in order to overcome their current difficulties.

“We’re not thinking about a change of coach,” he said. “Sometimes Rudi and I have different opinions but we’re all in this together. He deserves to coach Roma.”