Former Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli remains confident they can finish in the top four this season.

The Bianconeri currently lie sixth in Serie A with just nine games remaining.

Cobolli Gigli, who left the club in midseason, told Gazzetta dello Sport: "I am speaking as a private citizen and as a fan so my opinions are just that.

"I have stayed in contact with Blanc, with whom a certain friendship has been established.

"I can't and I don't want to even imagine a Juventus out of the next Champions League even if I understand that finishing fourth at this point requires an effort on behalf of the players in the month leading up to the World Cup.

"At the start of the season, Juventus were on course for everything. The results said so. In the first games of the year, the team was good, rampant, Juve played well.

"Nothing foreshadowed this decline. I believe that the defeat at home to Napoli after having been 2-0 up came to bear on the morale of the team, putting doubt in the players' minds."