( CNN ) -- Juventus have sacked coach Ciro Ferrara after a string of poor results and have installed Alberto Zaccheroni in the hot seat until the end of the season . Ferrara 's position has been threatened after a dismal run which has seen them slip out of contention in the Serie A title race as well as being eliminated from the Champions League at the group stages . Thursday 's 2-1 Coppa Italia defeat to Italian champions Inter Milan proved the final straw and the club released a statement to confirm his departure and Zaccheroni 's arrival . `` Zaccheroni will take over the team immediately and will guide this afternoon 's training session in Vinovo before being officially unveiled to the media , '' it read . Ferrara joined Juve late last season and steered the Turin powerhouses to second place in Serie A behind Inter . But his first full campaign in charge proved challenging after a promising start to the season . The Bianconeri have lost five of their last six games in Serie A and have slumped to sixth in the standings , four points behind Napoli , who hold the last Champions League qualifying spot . Zaccheroni will hope to get them on track with his first game against Lazio on Sunday . The 56-year-old has coached at a number of leading Serie A clubs and helped AC Milan to the 1999 Italian title , but it is his first job since being sacked by Torino in February 2007 . Ferrara , a former Italy international and Juventus defender , was given the reins despite his lack of experience , succeeding current Roma coach Claudio Ranieri , who was fired . Zaccheroni 's appointment ends , for now , media speculation that Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez would take charge at Juve , but the short-term nature of his contract until June raises questions about the permanence of his stay . Benitez acknowledged the speculation in his weekly press conference on Friday . `` I am focused on preparing my team for the game against Bolton . I know they ( Juventus ) were interested , that is part of the game now in football , but I am not ready to talk too much because I do n't want to lose my focus . `` When you are a manager and you have clubs asking ( for you ) , you have to be proud because they are a top side in Europe , but I am really happy here and want to do my job as best I can . ''
Juventus sack coach Ciro Ferrara after a string of poor results in Serie A and Europe . Ferrari replaced by former Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni until the end of the season . Juventus have slipped to sixth in Serie A after losing five of their last six games . Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has also been linked to the Turin giants .