Napoli president Napoli chief Aurelio De Laurentiis has expressed his regret over sacking former boss Carlo Ancelotti and replacing him with Gennaro Gattuso, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Under former Milan boss Gattuso results have not improved, with Saturday's 2-0 loss at home to Fiorentina making it four losses from the last five Serie A games.

Such is the malaise that De Laurentiis wants new Everton boss Ancelotti to return with the club stranded in 12th in Serie A - although Gattuso is now set to take the squad away on a training retreat.

Napoli president Aurelio Di Laurentiis is furious with the club's recent Serie A performances

'I spoke to the squad and they made the decision to go into a training retreat from this evening,' Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia.

'It was their decision. We can't underestimate any detail. We need to look each other in the eye, stay together and say what needs to be said.

'We have to find solutions, because what we're doing right now is not enough.'

Gattuso also told DAZN: 'We must first and foremost apologise to the fans and the whole city, because the performance was embarrassing.

Under new manager Gennaro Gattuso, the club have struggled for form and lie 12th in the table

'In the past we had decent performances, but here other than the first 20-25 minutes, there was a lot that needed work.

'We can't look for alibis, we have hit rock bottom here and need to find out what is happening. It looks as if we just met this morning, put the jerseys on and went on to the pitch. There is no organisation or unity, we are all at sea.

'It's strange, because the team trains hard during the week and does well, then we get out there on match day and don't do anything. We're sluggish, we let the opposition through, we create little. Nothing worked this evening and it's only right we take responsibility for that.

'I can't explain it, as I felt the team would put in a great performance tonight and I was let down. The team has no soul. We thought that we were recovering from the earlier situation, but evidently we're still sick.'