Forget injury troubles, suspensions or dodgy referees: Benevento president Oreste Vigorito has pinned the blame on witches for his team's poor start to the season.
The Serie A club lie rock-bottom of the Italian top flight, having lost an incredible 12 out of 12 fixtures so far and managing just five goals against a whopping 31 conceded.
Benevento 3/4 double chance v Sassuolo
But when asked to explain Benevento's woes, Vigorito skipped the usual cliches and went straight for the occult.
“There’s so much praise from everywhere, but always without points,” Vigorito said to Gazzetta dello Sport.
“The blame lies with the malignant influences which have always been associated with this city… witches. Yes, it’s true. I’m superstitious."
Vigorito lamented his team's close call in their last outing against Juventus, a 2-1 loss after Benevento had taken a shock early lead.
“Seeing Juventus closing down the game and defending is like a moral victory, I hope we can get a real one against Sassuolo.
“One thing is certain though, we’ll stay in Serie A because we won’t give up.”
The 'witches of Benevento' have been associated with the Campania city for almost 1000 years, to the extent that the club carries a picture of a witch flying on a broomstick on their badge.
We can only hope now that malignant spirits take at least one weekend off, to allow Benevento to finally get off the mark in Serie A!