Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella has dismissed calls for him to step down after the team's early elimination from the World Cup.
"If the question is whether I want to resign then the answer is 'no'," Montella told a news conference ahead of their final group match against co-hosts United States later on Thursday.
"I still have energy and passion. If someone wants me to resign then they have to accept that I won't do it."
Italian national Montella has been in charge since 2023 and led Turkey to the World Cup for the first time since 2002. The team lost against Australia and Paraguay and can no longer qualify for the knock-out rounds.
Montella said that never before a Turkey coach had led the team to the Euros and the World Cup. Turkey played at Euro 2024, reaching the quarter-finals.
Montella added that "I have the support of the president [of the Turkish FA, Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu], that's enough for me. And I have the support of the players."
The coach criticised some Turkish media reports, speaking of "personal attacks which I can't accept" and urged the reporters "not to destroy everything, to throw it away."
He also criticised an incident at the team hotel on Tuesday when a group of three or four people insulted the team, which gained a lot of attention on social media. Montella insisted that "there were also 50 people who supported us."
"We were without World Cup participation for 24 years and now we are here. That's what we have to tell the people. It is something good that we are here. We must stand united," Montella said.
