Monday, April 20, 2015

The German has come in for some heavy flak after two consecutive defeats but the Viola coach says "something has happened in all of our heads"

Vincenzo Montella says that a collective mental fragility is to blame for Fiorentina's sudden dip in form - not star striker Mario Gomez.
Gomez has been heavily criticised for his poor goal return in recent weeks, with the Germany international having failed to net in his last three games in all competitions.
However, Montella believes that Fiorentina have been shown to be mentally weak after losing 3-0 at home to Juventus in the second leg of their Copa Italia semi-final before being beaten by the same scoreline in a crunch Serie A clash with Napoli at the San Paolo on Sunday.
The Viola coach is now desperately hoping that the Tuscan outfit can get the psychological boost they need when they travel to Ukraine to face Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday. 
"It is wrong to focus on a single player [Gomez]," Montella told reporters on Wednesday. "I expect more from everyone, especially from the more senior players.
"The causes are there, we have identified them and we have worked to solve our problems.
"For days in Florence we have talked about nothing else, we will continue to work on these problems.
"Our problems are not physical, something has happened in all of our heads. We understand where we went wrong and the game with Dynamo Kiev comes at the right time.
"We need to show maximum concentration to overcome adversity."
Fiorentina's loss at Napoli has left them eight points adrift of Roma in the third and final Champions League qualification place on offer in Serie A.
As a result, Montella freely admits that the Europa League has now taken on added significance, given the winners will earn a place in next season's Champions League.
"At this point, the Europa League is important to us, and we will play to the end," he added. "But the league is still open in my opinion. Anything could happen."

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