Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Heat grows on Roma boss Rudi Garcia ahead of key trip to Palermo

Under-pressure Roma coach Rudi Garcia faces a potentially key test when he takes his side to Palermo at the weekend.

Tuesday's 3-2 Champions League defeat to BATE Borisov saw criticism of the Frenchman intensify despite the 5-1 Serie A thumping of Carpi the weekend before.

Roma fell 3-0 behind to Belarusian club BATE by half-time after a performance that saw Garcia's tactics questioned.

The coach appears to have lost the faith of large parts of the club's following, and was jeered before the Carpi game.

The hashtag #Garciavattene -- translating as "get lost, Garcia" -- is increasingly being used by Roma fans on Twitter.

Reports of increasing concern amongst the club's hierarchy have led to speculation that anything less than a win in Sicily on Sunday could spell trouble for Garcia.

Former Giallorossi coaches Luciano Spalletti, Vincenzo Montella and Carlo Ancelotti -- all currently out of work -- are in the frame as potential successors, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Garcia's girlfriend, a journalist for the club's Roma TV channel, questioned whether Ancelotti "would want to get aboard this ship," hinting at the atmosphere around the club and the pressure the former Lille coach is under.

The coach, whose side have finished second to Juventus in each of his two seasons in the Italian capital, has three years left on his contract.

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