Montella refuses to resign after Turkey humiliated | OneFootball

Italian coach Vincenzo Montella hit back angrily at suggestions he resign after Turkey suffered a humiliating 6-1 friendly defeat to Austria.

Although Turkey have already qualified for the Euro 2024 tournament, this break for a couple of warm-up games did absolutely nothing to boost confidence.

They were already defeated 1-0 by Hungary last week and this evening were swept aside 6-1 by Austria, despite Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu giving them the initial lead from the penalty spot.

Montella only took the job in September 2023 and won his first three matches against Croatia, Latvia and Germany, but that was followed by a 1-1 draw with Wales and these two losses.

Speaking to Turkish television after the match, Montella was asked if he would consider resigning after a 6-1 result.

“I will not answer that question, because I think it is a provocation. I want to ask you this: do you resign when asking a wrong question? It is an unnecessary provocation.”

Turkey have another warm-up match before the Euro 2024 tournament and it will be against Italy on June 4, then Poland on June 10.

They are in the group with Portugal, Czechia and Georgia.

Montella insisted that these friendlies were necessary to test out some players and “frankly, I got the answers I needed. We will try to bring the best squad to the tournament.”

He did start out by taking full responsibility for the 6-1 defeat, “a result that nobody expected,” insisting it would not shake his “mental strength.”