Troubled AS Roma appointed Vincenzo Montella as coach until the end of the season yesterday after Claudio Ranieri quit following the club's fourth successive defeat on Sunday night.

His first match in charge will be tomorrow's league game at Bologna which was abandoned because of snow last month.

Ranieri resigned following fan protests and after eighth-placed Roma lost 3-4 at Genoa having been 3-0 up in their Serie A match.

It also fell 2-3 at home in a Champions League first leg to last 16 debutante Shakhtar Donetsk last week.

The club confirmed in a statement that youth team coach and former striker Montella had been given the role until the end of the season.

What happens after that is open to debate with Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti being linked with a return to Italy unless Chelsea's slump in form ends.

Ranieri's departure has come at a difficult time for Roma, which did well to finish second under him last season, but has slumped in the standings after a poor run.

The club's supporters have been protesting violently, but the fans' feelings are unlikely to put off an American consortium from trying to buy the indebted club, Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said yesterday.

The mayor has been a central figure in the drawn-out sale process, with US group Di Benedetto given an exclusive 30-day window to discuss their purchase.

"I think we are talking about a consortium made up of experts who won't be scared," Alemanno said.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has praised Ranieri for showing "responsibility and dignity" by resigning - a rare step these days by a coach as members of his profession usually wait until they are fired, collecting a bumper payoff when their time is up.

Montella, 36, is a former Roma striker. He spent six months on loan at English Premier League side Fulham in 2007. Known during his playing days as L'Aeroplanino ('the little airplane', for his small stature and trademark goal celebrations) he earned 20 caps for the national team, scoring three goals.

He was a key member of the Roma side along with Francesco Totti and Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta, then coached by current England boss Fabio Capello, which won their third and last league title in 2001. This is his first major managerial position, his only previous experience coming as coach of Roma's under-15 team.