Max Allegri is claimed to have ordered that his Juventus players partake in a training retreat which will mean that they will not return home to their families until next weekend.

The Old Lady succumbed to a third straight league fixture without victory this week, drawing with Inter Milan before suffering two defeats at the hands of Sassuolo and Verona.

Our latest disappointing results now leave us down in ninth place in the division, at risk of missing out on any form of European football for next season, a drastic fall from grace from our expectations of challenging for the title this term.

Allegri conceded in midweek that the title race was not going to include us, and those comments failed to motivate the team to prove otherwise when going into the match with Verona, and he has now moved to try another angle as is claimed to have called on his players to remain together and not return to their families until next Saturday.

TuttoSport reports that the decision would have been taken in agreement with the players and the club hierarchy, with matches against both Zenit St Petersburg and Fiorentina before anyone would return to their homes.

This sounds like a desperate attempt to steer a ship away from the iceberg, but I can’t help but feel that it is an admission that there is major issues within the squad which have to be addressed.

For such an experienced team, it seems a strange request from the manager, but only time will tell if the decision will prove to have made the correct decision or not.