Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 10y

Rafael Benitez feels 'no risk' over job as Napoli drop more Serie A points

Napoli coach Rafael Benitez insists his job is safe after his side were held to a 3-3 draw against Palermo on Wednesday.

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The stalemate at the Stadio San Paulo is the third game in a row in which Napoli failed to pick up maximum points in a league fixture, and the gap to the top two -- Juventus and Roma -- has already grown to eight points.

The Spaniard does not expect to pay for his side's poor form though, answering the question as to whether he feels his own future is in the balance without hesitation.

"No, I don't feel any risk at all," he told Sky Sport Italia. ""I've not spoken with [president Aurelio] De Laurentiis, but I don't need to speak to him every minute to know if I'm at risk or not.

"This team have done well up to now, and they will do well again. We're still playing at a high level, we just need to keep the faith."

There was no comment from De Laurentiis, who is currently in the United States on business, but it is understood his patience in the coach he has always backed is beginning to wear thin.

Benitez, however, had plenty of arguments for seeing the glass as half-full after another disappointing result.

"The positive aspect is that we scored three goals and created plenty of other chances," he said. "Then we should have had a clear penalty that could have made the difference. We're just lacking a bit of serenity and we all need to win this back together. Remember, last season we got 78 points."

The Partenopei also won the Coppa Italia last May, but after being defeated by Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League playoffs in August, Benitez's achievements of 2013-14 will count for little other than perhaps a bit more time in the Napoli hotseat.

Roberto Donadoni had three more games after making a similarly poor start to the 2009-10 season and Benitez can expect at least that, although speculation is mounting that Roberto Mancini is being lined up as the Spaniard's replacement.

Napoli's next three games are at Sassuolo, at home to Torino and then at the San Siro against Inter Milan, and Benitez will have to reduce the deficit on the leaders in those three games to win back the dwindling faith from his club's fans.

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