Lippi backs allegri for juve stay

Former Juventus head coach Marcello Lippi has backed Massimiliano Allegri to remain in charge of the Serie A champions, despite speculation regarding his future. Allegri has clashed with a

number of his own players in recent weeks, while he has also been linked to the Arsenal manager's job as Arsene Wenger's potential successor.  But Lippi, who has twice managed

Juve, expects Allegri to stay in Italy and does not believe the former AC Milan boss is suffering from the same "burnout" he experienced at Guangzhou Evergrande. You may like

"Will [Allegri] be burnt out like I was in China?" Lippi said to Gazzetta dello Sport. "No, my problem was how far away I was from home - 10,000 kilometres. Three years

don't necessarily lead to burnout. "If Max had the perception that he wasn't welcome then he wouldn't say, but I think that's the furthest thing from his and

Juve's thoughts at the moment. "For now, they're just thinking about [winning a] sixth Scudetto, which would make them legends, and [winning] the Champions League, which is

feasible." And Lippi insists that Allegri's confrontations with Leonardo Bonucci, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Paulo Dybala are not cause for concern. The best features, fun and

footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. "These things aren't problems," he added. "[They are] just a strong signal of personality from players who want to

be protagonists. "Not to mention that, historically, at Juventus, certain attitudes are poorly tolerated by the club and the veterans. "Moments of tension are inevitable, but the

players respect their coach and apologised, which shows they know they made a mistake." Juventus are currently seven points clear of Roma at the top of Serie A, while they face Porto in

the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.