Salernitana held their nerve in one do-or-die shootout to extend their stay in Serie B – and now head straight into another fight for survival, this time against Frosinone.

The Salerno outfit were in the bottom three before Tuesday night’s final round of fixtures but a win over Cittadella saved them, for now, and sent the Venetians into the third tier.

Salernitana and Frosinone, both relegated from Serie A this time last year, now face a two-legged play-out to avoid following them through the trapdoor.

Pasquale Marino’s side, having finished 17th, one place and one point below the Canaries, are at home in the first leg and may fancy their chances of laying down a marker at the Arechi, given their form over the past few weeks.

Marino, Salernitana’s fourth manager of the season, took charge just over a month ago and has overseen four wins and two defeats. Over that short space of time he has been convinced that his players have what it takes to cope with the nerve-shredding demands of a play-out.

He said: “We have been playing many games in quick succession since I have been here and there has always been little time to train. I have rotated almost all the boys without preclusions and I am happy with the responses given by everyone, even those who had played less. 

“This team has only made a mistake once since I have been here, in Genoa (losing 1-0 to Sampdoria). The boys have given me important responses even in training, I have always seen their desire. 

“The six games of my management have always been do-or-die, it was not easy mentally to face them all with this spirit.”

Marino received a boost with the news full-back Tommaso Corazza and midfielder Lorenzo Amatucci will be fine for Monday, while defender Gian Marco Ferrari should have recovered from a shoulder problem he picked up against Cittadella.

There was little to choose between the sides across the regular season. Both scored 37 goals, with only Cosenza and Cittadella, who were both relegated, claiming fewer.

Giuseppe Ambrosino is Frosinone’s leading scorer with five goals but manager Paolo Bianco is not concerned by the numbers.

He said: “In (the last) 12 games the team has scored 16 goals: a pretty good haul for a team that needs to save itself. I’m not worried, because we have distributed the goals among many players. There are many guys who can score in various ways, among defenders and midfielders, in addition to the attackers.”

A 10-game unbeaten run from February until a 1-0 defeat by Pisa on May 1 should also give Bianco encouragement, as should Tuesday’s 1-0 win at champions Sassuolo.

Frosinone also came out on top in the head-to-head across the campaign, winning 2-0 at home on Boxing Day before a 1-1 draw in February. And due to their higher finishing position in the table, they would stay up if the tie is level on aggregate after the second leg on May 26.

The relegation play-out is a nervy prospect at the best of times but defeat will signal a remarkable fall for one of these two given both were in Serie A in 2023-24.

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