Palermo sports director Walter Sabatini has denied claims of "discontent" inside the club.

He said: "Talk of discontent inside the club in recent days? No, I was not bothered, these are things that are part of the game in my job and we passed it all with great calm.

"The coach is always the target of criticism and controversy, I know him well and in this case we also enjoyed a degree of benevolence from president Zamparini, who has established a good feeling with Zenga.

"When there is such a relationship, you can overcome all the difficulties of the season."