Mihajlovic standing on his last legs

Last season for the viola was something of an up and down one. Up in the sense of the wonderful Champions League campaign which should have seen then edge past Bayern Munich, but for woeful officiating, and up in the sense of superb wins in Europe’s premier competition against Lyon and home and away against five time winners Liverpool. However, their domestic form suffered to balance out the ‘down’ side of this equation. A final placing of 11th was  an anti-climax given their heroics in Europe, but many a viola fan would have understood the sheer effort expanded to achieve that success was always going to leave them overstretched on the domestic front and in that sense it was worth the sacrifice.

There were of course more positives for Fiorentina. The emergence of Stefan Jovetic as a player who could make the difference against elite European sides added icing to what was already a pretty sweet cake of a season. They have certainly missed his presence this season, and as they continue to tread water, in 13th place, one wonders how much time coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has at the helm and how long Fiorentina have left to save anything from this season. Right now it seems as if survival is the only objective left and that will not please the residents of the Curva Fiesole who before this campaign had begun would have legitimately expected their side to at least battle for a top four spot in the bella campionato del mondo. Strength and creativity in the form of Gaetano D’Agostino had been added to an already strong side with the likes of Vargas, Montolivo and Gilardino still wearing purple and without the distraction of European action there was a solid foundation for a another special season in Tuscany. 

However, these factors have made no difference as their season still has yet to take of with only six victories registered up to this point, and defeat on the road to Lazio this weekend maintained their record of not having won a game away from home this season. Injuries have played their part but one wonders how much the Adrian Mutu saga has impacted upon the club dressing room as again he has been the centre of controversy  this season. However, time is definitely running out for manager Sinisa Mihajlovic and unless points are obtained against fellow struggler’s Genoa and Parma directions to the exit door will be looming.