Udinese stand by Runjaic despite six straight Serie A defeats

Udinese have confirmed they remain fully behind head coach Kosta Runjaic, even after Sunday's 2-0 home defeat to Milan stretched the club's losing run to six consecutive Serie A matches.

According to ANSA, via TuttoMercatoWeb, the club insists its backing for the German coach "is not time-limited" and believes he can find a way out of the crisis. Runjaic, in his third season in Udine, guided the Friulians to a 10th-place finish in Serie A last season.

Two decisive fixtures loom

Despite the public vote of confidence, the next two games are expected to be decisive. Udinese travel to Parma on Wednesday before hosting Roma on Saturday. Being stuck on four points after 10 games would be considered too dangerous, even for owner Gino Pozzo.

It has been a dramatic decline for Udinese, who took four points from their opening two fixtures before losing six in a row. They have scored nine goals and conceded 18, and sit 17th in the table.

Club sounds out alternatives

As a precaution, the club has already made exploratory contact with possible replacements, though no formal talks have taken place. Mondo Udinese names former coach Luca Gotti, Paolo Zanetti and Francesco Calzona as options.

Pozzo would prefer to keep Runjaic until his contract expires in June and avoid a mid-season change. The owner's patience, however, will be tested if results do not improve over the coming week.