Udinese Calcio coach Francesco Guidolin has signed a two-year contract extension, tying him to the club until June 2017.

Guidolin revealed the news during his first press conference of the new season, the 57-year-old adding: "I can only thank the club for this. I'm proud to be able to continue managing this side, this new contract completes the extraordinary season we had last term. It's also what I really wanted at this stage."

Udinese qualified for the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round after a club-record run of eight straight wins at the end of the campaign saw them surprisingly finish fifth in Serie A. It continued Guidolin's success since returning for a second spell at the helm in 2010 and leading the team to back-to-back UEFA Champions League qualifications.

"After three fantastic seasons we will restart with the usual humble approach," the former Vicenza Calcio and AS Monaco FC boss said, looking ahead to 2013/14. "First we aim to reach 40 points [to avoid relegation] as quickly as possible; we will give everything to reach the UEFA Europa League group stage too. We know it won't be easy but we will use all our passion and heart to keep Udinese at a high level."